


Star Wars: Glory of Alderaan

by sand_dollar



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: 12 labors, Alderaan, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Bonding, Crying, Developing Relationship, Epic Battles, F/M, Fix-It, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Dyad (Star Wars), Force Visions, Forgiveness, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Happy Ending, Kissing, Mythology References, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Redeemed Ben Solo, Redemption, Resurrection, Rey Needs A Hug, Reylo - Freeform, Soulmates, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Fix-It, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers, Tatooine (Star Wars), Visions, but it's cool in the end, one shared brain cell, the galaxy is about to find out some stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-02-22 08:56:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 43
Words: 105,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22713487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sand_dollar/pseuds/sand_dollar
Summary: On Tatooine a secluded Rey and Ben begin to heal from the war while maintaining a secret from the galaxy that the once Supreme Leader Kylo Ren is alive. This secret is challenged when Rey and Ben are visited by a friend in need of help.On Yavin 4 Resistance fighters are taken hostage by the Hutt Cartel leaving Finn, Rose, and the remaining fighters to respond to the emergency, but they soon find themselves up against more than they can handle. With a call for help sent to the only Jedi in the galaxy, all the Resistance can do is wait and hope.While the Hutt Cartel wages an impromptu, but well weaponized battle against anyone who comes to the aid of the Resistance a more ferocious enemy waits to make their appearance after hearing the son of her most hated enemy, Leia Organa, has made a sudden reappearance.
Relationships: Finn/Rose Tico, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 109
Kudos: 117
Collections: TROS Reylo Fix-it Fics





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sexual Content warning for chapter one. The last quarter of this chapter has some sexual content. Nothing more explicit than what would be in a young adult novel, but I wanted to give a warning anyway.  
> This story takes place after Star Wars: Command Echelon, but please don’t feel that you have to read it to understand what’s happening. There isn’t a huge overlap between the two stories.  
> Also, these characters don't belong to me they belong to the mouse.

At times when the Tatooine dusk wasn’t such a burden or when a steady breeze passed over the desert, a traveler, perhaps seeking a way around the populated Mos Eisley or simply on their way home, would note the abandoned homestead once belonging to a man, his wife, and their nephew. Perhaps thinking they’d missed a turn or went the wrong way, it would take the occasional traveler a moment to understand the once-abandoned homestead was now reclaimed. The homestead, once charred with fire damage was now illuminated. If curious, a traveler might dip their ear to the home listening for any sign of who might live there and while it was mostly quiet, there was the promise of something more. Even fewer of these travelers could claim a penchant for meddler behavior, but again, a couple did and on such an evening as the Tatooine desert provided a steady cool and calming sunset there was one traveler who dared themselves closer to the brimming homestead. It was the laughter that caught their attention. A soft lilt of joy coming from a woman and when the traveler peeked down into the homestead’s courtyard they caught a glimpse of the woman, her tended form resting in a chair at the galley’s table, a game of Sabacc placed before her, and with her a man. The woman covered her smile only to reveal it again for the man who responded by reaching over the table and brushing the woman’s cheek with his thumb.

“Just a couple of lovers.” The traveler scoffed and renewed the track they’d been walking. Utterly disinterested in a full homestead and one they could no longer rob supplies from without notice, the traveler looked over their shoulder once more to shake their head.

“A couple silly kids.”

“Ben, when am I ever going to play Sabacc?” Rey held her single card out so Ben could see, while the man effortlessly shuffled through the deck looking for the two of staves and the three of sabers. In a gap of a memory, Ben felt like his father, just winding an evening away with a game. The thought, and the pain that came with it, stung, but as he often did, Ben glanced at Rey, taking her in as a breath of air before delving back into the inevitable that came with every hint of the past. 

“You’ve never played before?” Ben handed over the two cards to add to the one Rey held.

“With who? One of the Teedos?” Rey smiled over her cards before looking up to Ben.

“That’s an idiot’s array. That’s the other way to win, but it’s rare. You’d need the idiot card, a two of any suit, and a three of any suit.” Ben paused, thought about what he’d just said and shrugged.

“What?” Rey asked, picking up the cards and looking them over.

“This game is easy for people who…”

“Who? What? Can use the Force? Are you talking about cheating?” Rey accused.

“I may have helped Lando win a few games. They never suspected a kid.” Ben spoke of the memory with more ease than usual, and as Rey watched, this memory didn’t come with stifling pain, no furrowed brow or sudden push into silence. 

“Hear me out.” Ben took his unseen hand and held the cards so that only he could see them, locking eyes with Rey, he smirked.

“Read my mind,” Ben spoke quietly, it was a dare. Narrowing her eyes, Rey leaned forward, pressing her gaze into her competition. Ben left his mind open, unguarded, but the more Rey stared the more distracted she became by the warmth in Ben. She knew it always to be there, but such warmth still left Rey breathless. Laughing to herself at first, the fit was impossible for Rey to hold back. As she rested her head against the table in full chuckles while reaching out for Ben’s hand, she flipped the cards over and laughed even louder.

“Oh, I wasn’t even close.” Affable eyes watched the woman, the locks of hair escaping their held place, and suffusing red beginning to cover her cheeks. All at once, voices of old rushed Ben’s thoughts, the ones who held stifling lies over his head and damned him for every soft smile he let loose from his lips. Ben ignored the thoughts, brushed them away, and collecting the cards he rose from the table. A quick kiss on Rey’s exposed neck and he promised his return after a final mediation. 

“I’ll be in in a minute.” He called over his shoulder before ascending to the top of the homestead, to a spot he’d come to enjoy meditating from, a place where the setting sun rested as if waiting to say goodnight. Warm, but not hot, comfortable. It was the way of this life Ben and Rey had begun creating. They were only at the foundation, only the beginning, but it was everything and enough. Every moment with Rey was a breath of fresh air, a reminder of his humanity, of life itself. Despite being in each other’s head, there was still so much to the woman, an intricacy Ben had all forgotten humans capable of, but within Rey, a constant summons growing and bounding made her both entirely known and renewed. Lately, it had been Rey at the center of his mediation, a welcomed distraction, but one Ben rummaged over.

Life was a bartering affair, one claiming Ben as both free and indentured, just as the desert is both vast and unforgiving. Acceptance, understanding, passion, deliverance these were the words sifting in his mind even when he wasn’t aware and when he was aware, they usually were accompanied by the doleful bellows of the past. His mother, his father, his uncle, Snoke, Vader, those voices as ghosts, both from real memory and manipulated, came in the night, judgment in hand, and sieved into his breath chocking him.

 _What have I done to my father_ , that same tortuous question and all of its followers stripped away Ben from the inside out, and then there was Rey. In her alacrity, in her heart and mind, in the way she held Ben and accompanied him on those ceaseless tours of the past, it was as if he’d never served the dark side. Sometimes, to Ben’s own breaking point, he could never piece together what it meant to be of blood-stained hands and loved as if he’d never spilled a single drop. It was in those darkened furrows that Rey would put her lips to his ear and allay those voices with the remembrance of the place he’d come from. What were moments to him, but something longer to Rey, translated as beyond time with his family in a place both close and far, here and there. After Exegol, after Ben’s body disappeared, he was reunited in the light with those who loved him and from that place, wherever it might be, Ben learned of what he must do. 

Then there was that freedom, an uplifting redress that came every time Rey opened her hand to accept his, and this is what kept the man lost in meditation, desperate for an answer as to what it meant to only see her at the center of his path.

 _Our path_ , Ben thought, it was them now. Not just him, not just her, but both.

Ben stayed in the sunset until he felt the light draw away with promise of tomorrow, and rising to his feet he smiled at the idea of what came next.

For Rey it was a twice-daily joy when Ben returned from his morning and evening meditation, both happening to take place when she was still in bed. The desert’s boasting heat embedded itself in Ben, forming him into a living star and one that Rey held with. Weather sensing a troubled mind or perhaps wishing for the day not to be over, Rey guided Ben’s head to her lap and with one hand lost in his locks and the other holding an old journal open, she read.

“I think we left off with the rancor.” Ben mentioned and flipping a couple of pages ahead, Rey found the place left from the night before. At ease, but adrift, Ben tried to concentrate on the account of an old merchant who crossed the desert in search of her missing ship, but it was of little use. Reaching to the top of his head, Ben took Rey’s hand and bringing it close he combed over her countless tiny scars, dirty fingernails from the Falcon, numerous grooves, light freckles, and all over her palm the lines like rivers. Meditation or not, it seemed Ben was incapable of parting from the path that claimed him, the same path he only wished to better understand. A heaviness strung its way into Ben’s thoughts and after Rey realized Ben’s mind was far away from where he was now, she closed the book, turned off the lights, and laid next to him.

Never rushing his thoughts, Rey kept her eyes muffled with his. There at the very edge, but always everywhere, as well, Rey waited until either Ben fell asleep or returned. What little light caught Rey’s eye became more than enough for Ben to moor himself to despite the clouded recess he found himself in. Unlike the recent past, when such interior travels resulted in darkness met madness, with rage boiling over, now was different. Ben could venture into his pain, into what crept along his mind at night without the fear of never returning or meeting some demise in the form of the past.

All vapor and no sight, Ben let the hidden world around him sink further into him until his dreams claimed him. He wanted to know the answer, the reasoning for his constant distraction. To the man, who waged countless battles and before those times traveled kilometers on foot with his uncle, this journey within himself felt tenfold and unending, perhaps even eternal. When clarity did come, it was by another’s breathing, a soft inspiration, and with it a building evaporation. Beyond where Ben stood was Rey with her back to him. Ben stood unfooled by the sight; he’d had enough visions to know that when the answer is right in front of him it was, indeed, not the actual answer. Still, he approached Rey. Her hair was down, the clothes she wore were ones he’d never seen, and at her feet verdant grass wafted with unseen sunlight. Closer now, Ben noticed Rey was holding something in her arms and at her back, he leaned over her shoulder to look just as she lifted a hand to pull back a thin sheet and beneath it…

Ben rose from sleep, a gasp breaking the still night. Chest heaving, Ben shook off the vision, but it refused to leave, it clung to him even as his mind filled with vapor once more. At his side, he sensed Rey was close to waking up herself and wanting at least one of them to get a full night’s rest, Ben left. Outside, beneath Tatooine’s cascade of skylight, a balmy desert raised no concern of the future and when Ben ascended to his preferred mediation spot, he was met with a kind breeze and forgiving soft sand beneath his bare feet. Placing a hand over his chest, the man searched diligently for his heartbeat, for the physical part of himself that signified life. It was still there, beating furiously and with promise. Bile began to build up in Ben, a forlorn despise came with every beat as he remembered the lives he ended and the evil he’d done.

A hollow pierce brought Ben to his knees and squinting his eyes shut as hard as he could, the man bit his tongue if only to keep the cries locked in his chest and constricted to their confine. The sand beneath his palms, Ben gripped the earth, squeezing it until he felt the small rocks within draw blood. A harsh, captured sob released itself and so came with it a torrent as Ben sought something real. Mourning, grief, misery, a single shred of doubt, anything to hold onto as he buried himself within his punishment. There would be no relent from _this_ pain, no giving into the idea of resolve, not for him and never, and Ben believed this. He believed it even if it meant death for himself.

 _This is what I deserve_ , Ben reminded himself again and again, but those destitute words began breathing with others. It started with the same soft inspiration Ben felt in the vision and ended when the last of the hot tears turned cold against his cheek. Panting, his eyes locked on the stars above, Ben fell into meditation, absolved to letting go to what so desperately called to him, and again what he found was Rey. Only Rey.

“I don’t…I don’t deserve this life and most of all…I don’t deserve Rey.” Those spoken words twisted away at his mind, at the bare string drawing from him to Rey and back again forever. The connection threatened to open now, under the moons with Ben raising useless concerns of the past, to a Force that already spared him.

“It’s not just about me.” The vapor drew back, promising a clarity to Ben that would never leave.

 _It’s about us_ , Ben lowered his head with an appeal of gratitude almost too heavy for his heart to bear, and this too went untaken. Ben remained at the place where the homestead met the desert until the suns rose and extolled him with light unending.

Rey was up, she’d been up the moment Ben left, and from their room sensed the circling conflict tearing Ben from the inside out. She was tempted to go to him, but a moment within her own meditation consoled her to the understanding it was best if she stay put, so she did. Alone in the darkened room, Rey leaned against the wall and pulled a blanket over her, her mind at ease. This time was different, she told herself. He’d feel differently about himself, change his mind about the future and his place in it. Rey knew it was only a matter of time and that when Ben finally began to see himself how she saw him, then slowly he’d accept himself again. It wouldn’t be easy and there was the immense possibility Ben would never fully acclimate to a world free of the howling trauma that stained his past and bled into his future, but as Rey repeated to Ben daily, she’d be there no matter what.

“It’s our life,” She could say that now, could yell it if she wanted, but somehow keeping the words warm against her lips was more pleasing, almost like a taste she could sense and hoped Ben did too every time they kissed. A smile, Rey thought silly, broke over her face, and she shook her head.

“That’s the thing. I want a life with him.” After traveling to Hoth and returning to Finn with the First Order made illness and the cure, Rey hoped things would be different. That after helping others somehow, Ben would see the good in himself, but he didn’t. His external wounds healed, but he continued to stifle his own humanity at times if only to remind himself of the wrong he’d done. The oath Ben swore to her, the oath he’d given to her father, was one that sat heavy on Ben, Rey could feel it at times nearly drowning the man in thought. To be lacerated by a weapon so infinitely that it boils from the base of one’s soul and reaches the skin in the form of starved love and forced solitude was something Rey both understood and would give anything to see healed in Ben. She touched Ben constantly if only to remind him it was the way of their humanity, that just because his past rolled with thundering fists to his body didn’t mean he was damaged beyond repair. 

When the door to their room slid open, Ben entered. Head down, lost in his thoughts, the man leaned against the closed door behind him. It was inevitable, the moment Ben glanced up he knew Rey would be waiting for him and that the change, however small, within himself would be there for her to see.

Ben wasn’t expecting the daze waiting for him when he met Rey’s gaze. Tickling at first, but declaring a more prudent hold, it was as if each fight, each threat, each look, each quiet conversation wrapped up in their connection before now was just a trickle, a maddening drip of what could be. If on Starkiller Base Ben was in awe of Rey, he was now in a stupor; a soul-hold undeniable, unanswerable, and overwhelming. No matter what the world screamed into his ears as long as Ben kept his eyes on Rey he’d know the way and that truth, while ponderous, claimed a future no one could touch.

Taken aback, Rey thought of Ahch-To and that dark night with nothing but a fire and embers to show the young woman Ben’s face. An act so simple as briefest touch revealed the bubbling idea that there were endless possibilities between her and Ben. Rising from their bed, Rey stepped toward Ben until she could hear his breathing and nearly his heart. Undoing her hair, Rey allowed the locks to touch her shoulders, and then reaching for the fringe of her top, she pulled it away. The room’s cool embraced her, what light there was outlined her form, and from where Ben was standing, he could feel the warmth of her skin lightly touching his. Loosening the rest of her clothes, Rey stepped out of them and left them to the floor.

Breaking a code so defining to her survival on Jakku, Rey abandoned the articles of protection required to keep her from the sun’s heat or a competitor’s weapon. At first, the action seemed mad, but the more she stood in her skin the more it felt like that single act of vulnerability professed an honesty even the most potent weapon couldn’t cut down. Offering an open hand with shaking fingers, Rey waited for Ben’s answer. Ben searched the woman’s eyes, traveled from their surface and into the place he was beginning to find more and more of himself within. He waited for a refusal that would never come and upon sensing a hand that would never leave him, Ben gave his hand to Rey.

Even after shedding his clothes, outside’s heat still enfolded Ben giving Rey the thought her hands would never be cold. In his hair, along shoulders and a scar-free back, Rey grazed her hands until she found Ben’s chest and a heart madly serenading a sworn life. Chest to chest, Ben felt Rey’s heart and the endless answering call gently tapping against his skin. Ben revered every measure of Rey, his parted mouth at her neck, her chest, and lips uncovered the too many nights she spent in tears and all alone. As if willing it all away, Ben replaced those damning nights with dreaming tender as he kissed her a necklace she’d never lose. So quick to ignore his own pain, Rey sensed in Ben what he’d hidden from the world. Her buried face in the crook of Ben’s neck brought with it a maddening whirlwind so torn and fractured its owner had nearly become an echo of a human. In unison, the duo pulled away enough to meet each other’s eyes and while truth presented itself as both deeply loved and admired, there was that edge of bruised beginnings and brokenness.

Reaching for Ben’s face, Rey ran her thumb under the man’s eyes, along the stream of skin where his scar once boasted from, to his ears where Ben had heard far too much about falling and blood, and finally to his lips that only sounded in dearest words. Together, in some humorous act that had been caught by the other, the couple healed over each other, sewing those unseen wounds while ignoring their own. The smallest chuckle escaped Ben, and Rey, as well, smiled at their similar wills before wrapping her arms around Ben’s neck.

In a passing day unhindered by time, Ben and Rey remained inside and in each other’s company. When words were spoken they were most fondly swathed in living dreams and fervid oaths and when there were no words it was simply another first kiss or caressing hand, the ever gentle embrace Ben formed with Rey and the joyful lips she ran over skin she never wanted to be parted from. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben reflect on the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own these characters, the mouse does.

Embossing words lingered at Ben’s ear while he found himself between awake and sleep. Not quite a dream, but easily able to masquerade as one. Rey, she’d been the one leaving blithe whispers at his sleeping ears, ones she knew he’d wake to hear or even better sense in his dreams. Rising in the cool darkness of the room, it didn’t take a second thought to know where Rey was or what she was doing. Arrant changes redoubled through the Force. What was once felt as a hesitation in the Force, a simple understanding, was now exceeding and definite. Raising his arm to the darkness, Ben closed his eyes and nearly felt the movements Rey made as she worked on the Falcon. His hand at his chest and he felt her every heartbeat reflected in him, his stomach grumbled with her hunger, and the cool of Tatooine’s midnight sands didn’t just touch Rey’s bare feet. Leaving bed, Ben found clean clothes waiting for him at the foot and outside, a clear sky with only moons and stars to speak of.

At the Millennium Falcon’s exterior, Rey mended what little work found itself looked over. A few external lacerations from a canon, but nothing a scavenger couldn’t fix in a single night. In truth, in a delicateness, Rey was only beginning to understand, the woman committed to a rarefied journey not separate from every sentient, but still, one intended for her and the best way to walk such a journey was to engross her hands with steady work. Brushing a hand over her lips, Rey encountered Ben’s warmth, and at her chest, and all over her. Imbued entirely with what was theirs didn’t change her, Rey found. Instead, it unfolded her. As if before she were a piece of paper creased over and over again, and only now did she begin to part, still the same, but more engulfing and capable than before.

Solemnity, playfully mixed with a teetering future building itself up into a grand design breathed through Rey and at such a moment on an average night when any other sentient might find the moons above Tatooine to be plain or common place, Rey swore their shine revealed a newness she hadn’t taken note of before. Countless forgiving threads strung as pure silver through the Force, through Rey, through Ben, and for the Jedi, each slender cord proved a twin life, one that never parted from the other half. 

_Limitless_ , Rey thought.

_Our life together is limitless._

Shaking, the young woman pulled her hands away from her work and hugged herself. The path she felt rearing inside of herself was one all too familiar. These thoughts, while not identical to those of a younger Rey, were ones that ran along the same line as having to do with her parents. Yearning and love were, at times, nearly the same. The pain of the past, of howling voices, and a ship leaving her behind with a lonely life swirled with how Rey loved and the understanding that to love meant to lose. 

The only difference was Ben was here and wasn’t going anywhere, and for the first time in Rey’s life she could share herself entirely and indefinitely, could peel away her rage, and without shame, present it to another person who would sooner jump into a bloodthirsty chasm than remark negatively on the entitlement she had to her nature. A point of no return, of healing and what it meant to truly love another person who would not leave sent Rey into a place of joy and awe, but also unease. And this too, reflected in Ben Solo. Ben was scared, but so was Rey, and in their fear, they were together as well. Feeling Ben close, Rey came to her feet wanting to see the moons and how they shinned a path for the man.

Ben’s towering figure beneath a clear sky and dancing stars cast a silver shadow across the desert, one that mused of a man with a golden soul and a heart made ripe. Jumping from her place on the Falcon’s top, Rey circled the ship and met Ben at the boarding ramp. Before Ben arrived in silent steps, Rey could already smell bread, soup, and tea.

“Sometimes I wonder if my parents knew me, would they be accepting of me.” Rey’s stared around the main hold, at the scattered tools, and at the table before her. Legs pulled up to her chest, Rey finished her meal first and finding the fullness of a lovely meal not to be what bugged her, she spoke the first thing to come to her mind. Ben waited a moment longer, knowing there was more to come.

“I saw my mother when I was looking for you, but even then…” Rey nestled her head on her knees before looking to Ben.

“I don’t know, sometimes it feels like a dream like it never happened, and I never saw her.” An edge of guilt pierced Rey’s mind, but she let it go.

“What is there of you that is not acceptable?” Ben asked, trying himself to find a piece of Rey he didn’t love, but empty hands were all he had to show for the excursion. The woman covered her mouth behind her knees, tightened her lips together, before sighing.

“Would my powers be too much for them to understand? I think back to Luke, and when he saw my darkness, the look in his eyes…” Rey shook her head at the memory.

“Luke was thinking of me at that moment, Rey. Don’t take his reaction as a measure of yourself.” Ben chewed the inside of his lip, thinking of his uncle.

“I’m sure if Luke were here today, he’d speak differently of your powers and to that note, Rey, your parents would have loved you no matter what you could do or who you were.” Rey saw a glimmering sadness flush within Ben, he was speaking from experience. Drawing in more air than the Falcon could possibly hold, Ben relented to the pain sitting on his chest.

“In the end…when my mother called to me she had only love. No anger.” The man shook his head, and a grimace masked as a smile crossed his face. 

“She always made coming home look so easy. If I’d thought of it more if I’d just taken a single step towards her…” Ben’s dropped his words as they sank into himself and became far more vivid within the Force. Rey filled with an urgency, a call so constant it rang almost audibly. There was both an ease and a beg to the call as if whoever it came from was aching from a quiet place. Ben’s memory of his mother’s call shook through Rey.

“Ben, Snoke had you so twisted in your anger, so convinced of your decision…” Loosening the hold on herself, Rey leaned forward across the table, wanting to feel everything Ben would share.

“When I was younger, my owner told me that my parents sold me to him and that they were never coming back and I believed him. It was years before I broke from his lies and even then, it was only to convince myself that my parents were coming back because they were all I had. But that’s the thing…it took breaking for me to see his lies, and that break came with another desert full of lies, but this time those lies came from me. It’s easy to lie to someone who just wants to heal.” 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and Finn meet up with other fighters for an evening of story telling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters belong to the mouse.

The roll of far off thunder and beginnings of a deluge touched Finn’s shoulders and the top of his head as he navigated between two abandoned sandstone temples, both of which were now warmed with the growing hope of the Resistance. Evening on Birren often brought with it the steady grip of a short storm, wind, and more water than Finn thought the world capable of soaking up. At the entrance of the hangar, between the line of freighters and x-wings, Finn found the small group of fighters gathering. Some took their place on a crate, on the ground, or a seat, but while the intention was to find some relaxation, internally, it was different; there was little room for rest. Every fighter held the same gaze shifted over various features, and it was the hope of Dr. Kalonia that each would leave with less of a burden to sleep with. Settling in a circle, Rose Tico, Kaydel Ko Connix, C'ai Threnalli, Larma D'Acy, and others focused their attention on Dr. Kalonia.

“Good evening.” The older woman smiled, noting the rigid postures of many of the attendees.

“I think the goal of tonight’s meeting should be to share one story from our past and how it impacts us today. Rose, why don’t you start?” Rose smiled briefly, and then looking down to her greased hands, she considered what story she wanted to share. One that wouldn’t leave her crying in front of the others or worse, up all night.

 _I thought Dr. Kalonia said talking about the past helps us live through it,_ Rose thought _._

An audible inhale to her right put a smile on Rose’s face. Even if she didn’t look up, she knew Finn was watching her.

“I’m from Hays Minor. I guess all of you already know that…anyway. When the First Order came, there were blackouts all the time in my village. Almost every night. I was a kid, and I was terrified of the dark. Most nights, my parents wouldn’t be home because they’d still be in the mines working, so it was just myself and my sister, Paige. I swore to Paige that there was a monster in our closet, that it was tall and dark, and it hated everyone. Paige always told me there was nothing there. That it was all in my head, but on the nights when I saw the glint of the monster’s red weapon, Paige would crawl in bed with me and tell me stories until I fell asleep. I guess Paige kinda figured out the only way for me to lose my fear of the monster was to face it. One night, when I couldn’t sleep, Paige got out of bed, and instead of coming to my bed, she went into the closet and told me to follow her. It took a minute…it took a long minute, but I did. I followed Paige. I never knew there was a ladder in the closet, and I guess my parents never told me because they didn’t want me to get hurt. Paige and I climbed the ladder, and it took us to the roof of our home. Every night, especially on the nights when I couldn’t sleep, I’d go to the roof and count the ships flying over. I’d watch the lines of light they created in the sky, and I promised myself I’d be up there one day, with Paige, and together we’d go everywhere.” Rose’s hand shook, but curling them into one another, she was almost able to ignore the constant tremor.

“Good job, Rose,” Finn whispered, his head inclined toward the woman.

“So when you faced your fear, you found your calling.” Dr. Kalonia added, her smile widening. There was a reason she chose Rose first.

“Finn, what about you? Do you have a story for us tonight?” Dr. Kalonia smiled at her general, wondering if he’d speak tonight. Judging by the way the man shifted his tea from one hand to the next, it seemed unlikely.

“Oh…” Finn whistled.

“Tell them the story about General Hux…” Rose whispered under her breath, offering Finn an easy option.

“Which one?” Finn covered his mouth, faking a cough.

“You told me you cleaned Hux’s quarters one time and found an open datapad with a list of people he hated the most. Tell them who was at the top.” Rose offered. 

“Not that one. I hate that one!”

“Well, figure it out. You can’t come here and sit quietly.” Rose pointed out.

“Finn? Do you have anything for us?” Dr. Kalonia’s soft question put Finn at some ease. 

“Me? Yeah, of course, I do. I have a story. I have a good story.” Finn stood up, hands on his hips, and looking back to Rose, Finn smiled.

“One time…one time, back when I was a Stormtrooper, there was this kid who’d just joined. He’d just gotten out of training, and it was him and I and this squad of people, just like me. Anyway, the kid’s name or identification was FR-0110, and we were sent to Naboo, where there was an uprising. Nothing big, but it was hostile enough for some Stormtroopers to get involved. I think an explosion went off.” Finn looked to the ground, back to Rose, who listened attentively and then took his seat.

“Ummm, I looked behind me, and the kid was gone. He just vanished, so I went looking for him and found him curled up in an alleyway. I told him we needed to go because if he were caught, he’d probably be terminated, but the kid wouldn’t budge. He refused to leave. I pulled off his helmet, and something about the fear in his eyes made me realize he was just a kid, just a scared kid. When he caught his breath, he looked up at me and said, ‘if this is what I have to look forward to, then I don’t want anything to do with this,’ and then he just got up, helmet off, blaster on the ground, and walked away. I never heard from him again. I don’t know if he’s alive, but I have a feeling he might be.”

“What makes you say that, Finn?” Dr. Kalonia asked. Finn thought about his answer, remembered the shaking gaze of the dark-eyed kid, and the way he spoke like he’d never used so many words at once.

“Stormtroopers are invisible. No one sees them, and no one cares when they’re shot. That kid is probably alive because he just left, and no one noticed. It was that easy. I realized it then. I’m invisible.”

After the meeting, after the rain passed, Finn left with Rose in tow as the two had a deal that one did not rest until the other did. It was a way to keep accountability to ensure that each was getting the rest they needed despite their positions within the Resistance after all the war was over, wasn’t it? In a high ceiling room with a line of unceasing firelight encircling the top quarter of the cone-shaped temple, Finn and Rose went through collected intelligence briefings from Coruscant all the way to Endor and beyond. From a worn-out, bursting at the seams chair, Finn skimmed over the information passed to him by Poe.

“In fighting on Kessel might leave the First Order open to a peaceful handover, Spice cartels on Akiva might just do our dirty work for us and overthrow what’s left of the First Order hold, not a lot coming from Raydonia, but Poe thinks there’s more going on there than meets the eye.” Finn peeked over his datapad to find Rose hazy eyed but still reading.

“Why don’t you run off? I’ll see you tomorrow?” Finn offered, but the woman inhaled sharply before steadying her gaze on the information before her. 

“Dermos doesn’t have much going on. Looks like it might be the most peaceful place in the galaxy. Did you see this message from Poe about his meeting on Coruscant? Sounds like-“

“General Finn!” C-3PO staggered into the office with R2-D2 behind and chirping.

“There’s a message from General Poe,” The droid looked to have been in the middle of an oil bath as his lower torso was shining, but the upper half was still tarnished. Finn nodded to the droid, who tapped R2-D2 on top of his dome. A stream of blue light parted from the droid as the messaged played.

“I wonder why Poe didn’t just contact us directly instead of leaving a message,” Finn asked.

“He might be in an area with little means to contact us directly.” Rose offered. A grimace plastered across Poe’s face told the two observing humans that their friend was in some kind of trouble. Even before he spoke, the man wiped away a glistening line of blood trailing down his forehead.

“We got trouble, Finn. I got a distress call from Yavin 4. I get there, and it’s absolute mayhem. The Hutts are attempting a hostile takeover. The Resistance base on Yavin 4 is about to be blown to pieces. I’m going to need you out here with C'ai and the others as soon as possible. I’ve left behind a navigational path just in case I go down before you get here.” When the message cut, Rose and Finn exchanged glances for a second before the duo stood and racing past a bewildered C-3PO, they sounded the alarm. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While a storm kicks up on the Tatooine homestead, Rey and Ben sense more to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters belong to the mouse.

There was more to the spitting sand storm outside. When Rey attempted to throw herself into rest, it was to no avail as the rage of the desert threw itself against the homestead. Sensing the same abstruse yelp within the Force, Ben handed over his sleep and took to mending old clothes. Needle in hand, the man used the dim light coming from the panel to patch up an old jacket he found upstairs. Frayed with the countless times it was subject to sandstorms and wrinkled from the tiny spot it was shoved in, and Ben had his work cut out for him. At times when Rey thought sleep was just a moment away, she’d watch Ben’s hands gently stitch the fabric, taking his time, unhindered by nothing. Just as the young woman formed the question she had for Ben, she fell asleep only to awake soon after. The process continued until Rey sat up in bed, huffed, and leaned against the wall, her arms crossed and nerves fretted.

Inhaling deeply, holding the air in till it became stale, Rey found a calm in the nearly unheard hush of Ben’s breathing. He was steady against the storm outside, neither fighting what the Force was up to nor attempting to translate what wasn’t ready to be understood.

“Who taught you to sew?” The quiet voice matched the man’s practiced hands.

“My uncle.” Ben’s tone reflected his lack of sleep, making Rey wonder if she’d ever heard him like this before or was the contentiousness of their relationship when they first met somehow the thing that blocked them both from noticing such things.

“Did you sleep much in the First Order?” Ben wasn’t expecting that question and so paused his busy work while not taking his eyes away from the torn leather. The slightest tremble crossed over his lips before he answered.

“I didn’t sleep much.” A blanket answer, one that sounded of more time than just the years spent with the First Order. Rey waited for the rest of the answer and, in that time, pulled part of the blanket they shared over her bare legs.

“I think it was Snoke. I mean, I know it was. He’d keep me up at night. Not so invasive when I was younger, but he’d pretend he was looking out for me.” Ben went back to the patchwork, slowly curing the stitch to bring together a tear. “I can’t imagine sleeping on Jakku was easy.” Ben glanced over to the woman, her eyes were closed, hands in her lap, but still very much awake.

“I slept better on Jakku than I ever did when I joined the Resistance. That’s not saying much.” Rey admitted. Running a hand over her hair, she pulled the evening braid she made earlier around her shoulder. “And then I didn’t sleep at all after Snoke.” Rey chewed her lips and fidgeted, before tossing the braid back over her shoulder.

“I thought it had to do with the torture when he had me in the throne room. When he did that, I saw things…” Shaking her head, the Jedi pushed those thoughts away, leaving them for another night when the Force wasn’t as kicked up as the sands outside. After all, it was a night like this that made Rey believe it was possible for the things she saw her in head to come to life. “And when I finally did sleep, I’d scream, and then Finn or Leia would ask me what was wrong, and I just had to lie them. They both knew I was lying, but I didn’t know how to tell them anything about what I was seeing.” Rey picked at her fingernails as the gusts outside buffeted their room. An unblinking somber gaze held Rey, it was almost like looking into a mirror.

“What did you see in your nightmares?” Ben didn’t have to ask. He already knew because he saw the same thing.

“You.” Even as the young woman answered, she could see the shadow, Kylo Ren approaching her with lightsaber drawn, but it wasn’t always like that. Sometimes, on the rare occasion Rey maintained more than just a nap, she’d be on some verdant world, lost to a meadow, and then there on the horizon, a light would shine, and from its heart, a man would approach. Rey waited for those dreams, ones that were so similar to the ones she had back on Jakku.

“Most times it was you and I fighting. You’d kill me, and I was lost forever.” Rey voiced the worst of it, even as Ben flinched. “I could make sense of those dreams. Those were expected. Then there were times where it was just you and I. No fighting, no death, just us like nothing ever happened. Those dreams made me angry, and for a while, I didn’t understand why. I talked to Leia about you, not often, but sometimes you came up, and then I’d understand why. If things were a hair different, this war wouldn’t have happened, and then you and I would have met under very different circumstances. No Snoke, no voices, no Jakku, no slavery, none of it. And I was angry at the galaxy, at the war, even at Luke despite him being gone. I saw it all as taking something from me.” Rey suddenly smiled and covered her mouth, leaving Ben perplexed. A shift between the two and Rey held out her palm, cocking his head, Ben caught the edges of something bright that came when Rey was thinking about the present. Taking the woman’s hand, Ben ran his thumb of her fingers before pulling her into his arms. The Force cascaded all around them, but for the time being, it was just noise as Rey rested her head against Ben’s chest, allowing his heartbeat to drown out the savage wind outside.

“What did you see, Ben?” The warm whisper caught in the fabric of Ben’s clothes.

“You. Always you. We never fought. There was only silence, and then you’d be gone, and I’d be left with my anger.” The gravel in Ben’s voice reverberated in his chest, and by that alone, it was easy to see what Ben was talking about. A jolt in the Force, a spark, shuttered Ben and pulling away, Rey looked to him, questioning the very same urgency he’d just felt. In the darkened cool of their room, the two remained, their entire mind tilted fully into the Force, in the warning raging outside their room. A shallow whistle caught the wind outside, and for the briefest moment, Rey heard it. 

“BB-8?” Rey questioned. Leaping to her feet, the young woman grabbed her lightsaber and the nearest cloth to cover her eyes. Opening the door, sand flew into the room. This time the whistles pelted out a distress too high pitched to mishear.

“BB-8!” Rey stepped into the storm, prepared to beat back the gusts with her own fists if that’s what it would take. Behind her, Ben had already wrapped his face to protect from the harsh jaws of the storm. The dark, the mountains of sand chasing to the earth below, no one with eyes could see in front of them, but for the two force users, it was a different story. Rolling into the courtyard from high above, BB-8 left a considerable dent in the sand below before charging into the room. Hysteric whistles flooded the room, and only needing to hear half of it, Rey took off for the direction BB-8 indicated. Small rocks and blankets of sand fell on Rey and Ben as they ran into the nothingness. At once lost from one another visually, the two relied on the Force to keep them situated within the maze of the storm. Thinking it a joke on the Force’s part, Ben could only huff as the wind picked up and slashed against his and Rey’s legs, covering them up to the calf in the sand before they could take their next step. 

“A ship!” Rey yelled and immediately felt her mouth run dry. Rey felt the life in the vessel, in an x-wing with sandblasted windows and fire sputtering from the empennage. The glow of the fire was just enough to guide Ben and Rey to the lopsided vessel. Still a mystery as to who the pilot was, Rey pulled open the hatch to find a bruised and bloodied Rose half-passed out, her eyes locked on the woman looking down at her. Covering the woman, Rey stepped aside as Ben proceeded to pick the woman from the vessel. With the growl of thunder above, Ben bared his teeth and leaned into the wind, demanding it bend to his will. The wind shifted, tilted, but like a wild animal fought the inclination, however, by the time any of the storm’s rampage could make a difference, the trio was out of harm’s way. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose shares a message with Rey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters don't belong to me, they belong to the mouse.

Covered in the storm’s soot, Ben placed Rose down on the bed while Rey ran to get some water. With hair held back in a battle-worn braid, a jumpsuit claiming dirt from another world, and boots thick with mud, wherever Rose had been, she’d been fighting like a warrior. Wounds dotted the woman, small lacerations cut across her cheek, down her arms, and into her hands. Ben eyed the one hand clenched around something with force despite Rose’s condition and gently opening the hand he found a beacon. 

“I gave Finn a beacon to use should he need me. It must have come from him.” Rey answered the unspoken question while something fretting and warring spoke from the Force, and it all became clear to Rey that a dreadful act brought the young woman to their door. Brushing the woman’s cheek, Rey felt Rose was closer to awake than sleep. At Rey’s side, BB-8 whistled somberly, but at a pace that was hard to keep up with.

“The entire Resistance?” Rey asked, and the droid confirmed, the Hutt Cartel managed to capture nearly the whole of active Resistance fighters. 

“Rose?” Rey called, and with a sigh, Rose opened and closed her eyes, first taking in the light of the room and finding the dimness too bright she shut her eyes only to open them when she realized why she was here.

“Rey!” Rose pushed herself forward, sitting up with the lurch of an uneasy stomach and pulsing skull.

“Rey, it’s Finn and the others-“ As if bitten on the tongue by a womp rat, the woman fully stopped her message when her eyes fell on Ben. Uncertainty with a tinged, bloodstained warning crept up Rose’s spin as her eyes twisted into deadly oaths. Stories flooded the woman’s mind, those told from cursed lips crusted over in blood and bruises, from fighters and survivors who’d seen the beast made Supreme Leader. Even as Rose recalled the handful of times, she’d seen Kylo Ren an immediate fear gulped at her attention, and she chased it away with growls of disdain. Rose didn’t glance back to Rey, she wouldn’t take her eyes from the snake in front of her. Like watching the dead rise, Rose could not believe the sight before her, that of the war-won Jedi with her back turned to the terror of the galaxy, to the bloodied hands that delivered nothing but loss and death. 

_What is he doing here_? Rose’s eyes demanded, and when she had the mind to form words, all she could manage was a single sentence spitting in rage.

“I’m not saying anything in front of him.” Spoken through gritted teeth, Rose didn’t resolve her threat even as Ben’s gaze shifted from concern to… _hurt_? In a supple move, the man left and escaped into the storm outside, but even then, Rose kept her eyes on the door. Prepared to unload a freight worth of questions, Rose shook the inquires away with the genuine truth that Finn and the others were in trouble, and time was of the essence.

“Finn, Poe, Chewie, C-3PO, R2-D2, and many other Resistance fighters were taken prisoner on Yavin 4 by the Hutt Cartel. Those damn slugs got a hold of some First Order grade weapons, they have some of their defected Stormtroopers too, along with their own soldiers and bounty hunters. We were in over our heads. The first moment we got, Finn slipped me the beacon, and told me to run before they caught us.” Rose stopped suddenly, her next words chocking the air from her lungs as tearing eyes pleaded with the woman in front of her. Leaping up from the bed, Rose raced for the door but nearly fell to the ground as shock began to set in, the smell of the battlefield filled her nose, the smoke of blaster shots, and shouts from Finn as he was dragged away. Touching her side, Rose drew back her hand to find blood.

“Rose!” At her side, Rey helped Rose to her feet and got her back in bed. Tearing at the opening in Rose’s jumpsuit, Rey found the blaster shot surrounded by sizzling skin. Taking a deep breath, Rey concentrated, sieved into her mind the idea of healing, and when the elusive became the inevitable, Rey placed her hand over the wound and felt it heal. It wasn’t getting any easier to heal, if anything it felt like a dream that once awoken from left Rey confused and unable to concentrate further. Touching the now closed wound, Rose shook her head when she brought back nothing but a bloodless hand.

“You need to rest,” Rey spoke in a slow daze.

“I’ll go to them, but you need to stay here.” Rose prepared to argue with Rey but stopped when she saw the warning in Rey’s eyes. There was no leaving, and if Rose tried to go, it would only waste time.

“Stay here, BB-8.” At the door, Rey turned back to Rose feeling the thanks the woman held for her.

“I’m going to leave you here with Ben.” Rey didn’t wait for Rose to answer, didn’t give the mechanic time to usher out her distaste over the idea of sharing the same space with a murderer. In truth, there was a possibility Rose would have held back the insults a bit, but just beneath her skin, a fire of mistrust raged. Outside, Rey ran for the workshop ignoring the sputtering dregs of the storm. Rey found Ben busying his hand, something Rey noticed him do often when his memories became too much or when thoughts of his father loomed too close to him. At her entrance, the man paused but kept the soiled tool he’d been using in his hands.

“You’re friends are in trouble.” Rey nodded to Ben’s words, felt gruesome memories attached to such words begin to whip around in Ben’s head.

“Yavin 4. Finn and the others ran into the Hutt Cartel. Rose isn’t sure who’s alive.” With the dark of the workshop cloaking Ben, it was easy for someone who didn’t know Ben to believe it only a matter of time before he turned back to the darkness. It was different for Rey. When she saw Ben alone in the workshop, it reminded her of Jakku, of the lonely girl scrubbing away the dirt on old parts. The darkness may surround Ben, but his eyes were always on Rey. A lambent sadness cast over Ben’s eyes, a shade he wanted to hide from Rey, but it was pointless. An entirety of each other rested within themselves. Ben let his mind tilt into the darkness, dip into dreaded thought of watching Rey walk away, and like lightning, the idea was gone. Sucking in air, Ben glanced to the floor and nodded.

“You have to go to them. They need you.” Ben affirmed and brought his eyes back to Rey, but the woman ignored his words. Filling the gap between him and her, Rey reached for Ben’s face, pressed her palms to the running warmth of his cheeks, and held her breath when she felt a tremor run through the man.

“Ben.” Rey managed, before wrapping her arms around his neck, around the warmth of the desert running wild outside and now all along Ben. It was a new fear, dressed in old clothes, but Ben began to see it for what it was, and Rey never needed a second thought. For both of them, leaving was associated with never coming back. Leaving meant there was something to run away from and that whatever was left behind wasn’t worth returning to. Rey knew Ben would count every step she took away from him, and likewise, she’d shake inside and out only to bury the urgency in favor of saving her friends. Arms locked around the woman, and Ben eased Rey off her feet, willed the Force to give him the strength he’d need to let go. On cue, the Force shook with the journey ahead, with coming screams, and battles requiring a Jedi. Ben loosened his embrace only to find Rey holding on harder than before, her face pressed into Ben’s neck needing his every sign of life and the promise that when she came back, he’d be waiting. Leaving meant a lot of things to the scavenger, but she promised the lies of her past didn’t follow her here. Rey parted from Ben, took a step back, and hating the way tears stung before they fell, Rey rushed her lips to Ben’s. Illimitable ardor raced over the shared heat between Rey and Ben, a reeling sob shook in the air, in the Force, and threatened to break from Rey, but Ben would have none of it. Hands beneath her clothing, Ben pressed his palms to the bare skin of her stomach, willing the healed flesh to begin mending from the inside out, from the heart to the place Ben touched. Radiant warmth, as if Rey sat beneath a brilliant sun filled her and sparing a smile to the gesture, she backed up, and took Ben’s hand.

“Save it,” Rey whispered, turning for the exit. She wasn’t going to look back, leaving meant looking back, and Rey wasn’t leaving forever. Ben stood listening to every step, to Rey’s call for BB-8, and then all too suddenly to the sound of the Millennium Falcon taking off.

“This is a swamp of a planet.” Poe rested his head against the stone of his prison cell, trying to tilt his head just enough to catch a glimpse through the pin-sized hole he managed to carve out of the solid panel door. Yavin 4 was a jungle, but inside a Hutt prison, it was a far worse swelter, one claiming darkness and the leavings of previous prisoners. 

“I can’t see anyone,” Poe reported to the other Resistance fighters.

“Wait!” Poe’s head bobbled back and forth before he realized an approaching shadow was coming for their cell. Poe took a step back just as the panel door opened, and a Twi’lek bounty hunter with more scars than words pushed a hooded prisoner into the cell. Poe knew better than to speak the man’s name as doing so meant giving the bounty hunter and, by extension, the Hutt Cartel more info.

 _Who am I kidding? They already know they have expensive targets in their possession_ , Poe gritted his teeth as the hood was pulled back to reveal Finn. The two men exchanged no words, pretended as if they didn’t know each other until the bounty hunter left.

“I came here with Rose and the rest of the Birren Resistance Base. They were ready for us, ambushed us. Poe they have defected Stormtroopers here, with weapons, and a few canons as well. I saw all that before they threw a hood over my eyes. I don’t know where they took the others. I heard Chewie. I think they got him locked up good in some pit.”Sweat ran down Finn’s face and found its way into the darkness. Finn stepped closer to Poe and whispered as if the thick humidity had ears and would tell the world of what it heard.

“Rose got away. She got to a ship.” Hope reared in Poe, a brimming thing he’d fight tooth and nail to protect.

“She gave ‘em hell. Flew out of this place.”

“Does she know where to go?” There were more fingers on Poe’s hand than people who knew of the beacon Rey left behind for Finn. In the near darkness, Finn smiled, he was ready for what came next.

“Yeah, she knows where to go.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey goes to Yavin 4, while Ben attempts to feed Rose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my characters, all belong to the mouse.

The Great Temple, the very place many rebel attacks were planned from, lay unseen to Rey. As BB-8 told Rey, the once rebel base was now in the hands of the Hutt Cartel and used for anything from spice production to a weapon’s depot. What used to be a base for change was now completely transformed to include the enslaved, the misused, and if it pleased the Hutts, a place to bargain with the galaxy’s most wicked. Too much fog rose from the jungle, extended white fingers far up into the sky where the Millennium Falcon operated. Nothing to see, but more than enough to feel. There were many lives on the ground, some prisoners, and many more guards bending towards violence. Landing the Falcon deep in the jungle, Rey already sensed the many forms of wildlife that had taken an interest in the ship, in the life onboard.

“BB-8 I need you to say here-“ The droid, knowing what Rey was going to suggest, ushered his immediate dislike of the idea. 

“There’s a good possibility I’ll be captured. I need you to stay here and continue to try and contact Lando. The message will get through, and he’ll come, until then, please stay here.” The woman’s eyes pleaded with the silent droid who huffed in the way only a droid could. Rolling away, BB-8 offered his assistance should she need him.

“I know, BB. The moment I need you, I’ll call.”

Exiting the ship, Rey’s concern of the Falcon’s landing sounding an alarm washed away as the jungle’s constant conversation boomed loudly. Chirps, whistles, the occasional roar, all of it echoed through the moon. Donning a moss green poncho, Rey took the pathless jungle letting both the Force and a handheld nav guide her to the prison. The soft crunch of her feet on debris soon gave to the robust growl of construction. At the precipice of a short hill, Rey looked down on the Great Temple, on the stone dock where multiple ships rested, scattered everywhere were crates filled with either spice or weapons, armed guards, some still wearing the remains of their Stormtrooper gear wandered the base while the rest of the Hutt’s hired soldiers carried on with either modified blasters of their own or melee weapons. Rey counted up the guards and finding it only to be a fraction of what awaited her she quickly surmised the best plan of attack was one she knew so well.

Having no clue where the prisoners where kept, Rey eyed the opening of the landing dock and the shadows that lay beyond it. A cut in the stone at the base of the temple promised multiple points of entry, and the hoards of people moving in and out of the stone meant plenty of surface area and a vast area to cover. One consideration lead to another for the Jedi. Finding the prisoners was one thing, getting them out was something else entirely. A distraction might get her and the Resistance the time they need, but this also would only buy time and guaranteed nothing. As if answering her unspoken question, a familiar roar in the distance caught Rey’s attention. 

“Chewie.” Rey’s eyes followed the echo and landed on the sloppy, mud drenched form of a Wookie chained at either hand and centered in the middle of an enormous divot outside the temple. Facing the temple, Chewie’s attention remained fully on the massive closed gate in front of him. Made of black metal, the gate promised an even greater beast behind it, something bloodthirsty.

“This isn’t good.” Thinking of the three weapons Rey had on her person, it would have to be enough for now. One for herself, one for Finn, and one for Poe, they’d loot the rest, get Chewie out, release whatever hid behind that gate, and hope it was enough to cause a distraction. Keeping below the vegetation, Rey crept with her gaze on the nearest bounty hunter, an Ugnaught boasting of a lightweight blaster almost as large as him. The sweating Ugnaught crossed by the bush Rey hid behind and stopped suddenly. Turning his head to reveal a massive scar running from his nose to somewhere behind his head, the bounty hunter sniffed the air and swept his gaze across the jungle. Rey stilled, stopped breathing, and prepared to attack. The Ugnaught inhaled the air once more, and finding the smell of drinks to be more appealing, he continued his travel. Rey hurried from behind the bush, leaped behind a crate of grenades, peeked around the corner to find the neighboring crate used as a table for a game of Sabacc, and then dashed for the darkness of the temple once one of the players got a bad hand and decided to backhand the dealer. Crouched, the woman entered the temple’s landing dock to the sound of cursing soldiers, deep laughter, and harsh words as the wretched counted their dues, cleaned their blasters, or carried on. Thick wafts of cooking meat mixed with sweat nauseated the Jedi, reminded her of Nima Outpost, and before the living nightmares could take hold, she slipped into a hallway.

Thin, dark for what seemed forever, Rey could only think to jump to the ceiling and push against opposing walls to hide herself should the need arise. A silence filled the Force, the worry of people, and sworn oath to a rearing fight ushered Rey along until she found a row of closed doorways; cells. Looking over her shoulder, Rey called gently for Finn, then Poe. Touching every closed door, Rey reached for her friends, trying to envision who was where.

“Rey?” A soft call sounded from behind one of the doors. Rushing to the door, Rey placed her ear to the thick stone.

“Finn?”

“Rey! Is Rose okay?” Finn’s voice ruptured the silence in the Force and filled it with elation mixed with growing concern.

“She’s a little beat up, but she’s fine and safe.”

“Rey, it’s Poe. We have a few Resistance fighters in here, but we don’t know where the others are.” Poe’s General voice couldn’t hide his relief. Turning around to face the other doors, Rey felt not a single room carrying the lives Poe spoke of. Wherever the other fighters were, they weren’t in this hallway.

“They're not here.” Rey gave a heavy answer, which prompted an even heavier idea.

“There are bounty hunters everywhere if I can steal a mask and blend in more, I can find the others.” Silence followed the proposed plan, followed by an agreement.

“You’ll all have to stay here.” Finn objected to the last part but was soon swayed by Poe.

“She’s far better at this than us.” Muffled discussion and the quick back and forth of the two generals reminded Rey of her lack of time and not waiting to hear the end of it, she walked away.

Rose attempted some form of rest, telling herself if she rested she could fight better, but at the closing of her eyes and the settling of her breath, nightmares tugged at her mind causing her to jolt awake. Over the idea that rest would find her, Rose tossed in bed, feeling the many bruises she still had. Drifting her hand to the spot in her jumpsuit where a blaster shot injured her, her fingertips grazed uninjured skin. Shaking her head, Rose imagined Rey doing the same to others, to herself should harm befall them. It brought some comfort, but only for a moment.

 _What it must be like for Rey_ , Rose thought. For someone carrying a burden such as hers, it was a miracle every room Rey entered didn’t at once sink into the ground, ill-constructed to house the Jedi and her perpetually blooming ordeals. Rose saw it in Rey’s actions, the Jedi’s blind bargain with the galaxy as she stepped into the middle of war and pain with the thought of forfeiting her life as a negligible affair. Rose didn’t lie to herself. Rose noticed an exhumed gaze that followed Ben even when Rey wasn’t looking at him like the Jedi saw him to his bones and beyond. At the thought, Rose shook her head.

 _There’s no way_ , but in the air, the woman felt it. This kind of welcomed ghost of a feeling, a residual embrace that made the room warm not as a result of the desert outside, but by the people who lived here. Outside, a single knock brushed the door, and Rose questioned getting up. She waited for a second knock, and when none came, she got up and opened the door. There at the entrance was a tray, a covered bowl, and a covered drink. Picking up the tray, Rose smelled a cooked meal, felt the heat of food beneath her hands. Looking into the courtyard, she searched for Ben but didn’t find him, and so she waited for the sizzle of an ignited lightsaber, the cries of terrified people, and when none of the expected took place, Rose gritted her teeth and tossed the tray and its contents into the sand. The act itself exhausted the woman and finding the bed she finally found rest.

Hours later, Rose awoke suddenly to the idea there was someone standing outside the door. Another knock, this one softer than before, and in response, Rose tossed a blanket over her body and turned so that her back was to the door. When the unwanted was long gone, Rose found her feet and switching on the lights hoped to find a container of water, Rey was always good about keeping a waterskin nearby. Seeing the whole room for the first time, Rose found it organized with hints of a mess here or there. An unfolded blanket across a chair, folded clothes, a shirt with needle and thread sticking from it, an old journal flipped upside down to keep its spot. At the foot of the bed, a shelf ran, and on top of it was a short tower of clothes too small to be Ben’s and too finely folded to be done by Rey’s hand. Rose saw how Rey kept her room at the various bases they resided on, it was nothing Rose didn’t do herself when there were more important things, but something told the mechanic Rey wasn’t one for complete organization. Next to the clothes was a stack of Sabacc cards, a game Rose once dared Rey to play, and one Rey admitted to not knowing how to, and next to the cards a dried desert rose and next to the withered rose a newly picked one placed into a short cup of water. At the head of the bed, Ben’s shelf held a couple of books and, at the very center, a long necklace of orange beads with frayed thread. Picking up the necklace, it didn’t appear to be something Ben would keep for his own use. Aside from the shelves, there was nothing else that Rose could place as clearly Rey’s or obviously Ben’s, the room was mixed, gathered together and shared.

Mouth agape at first, Rose ran through the many shared conversations she’d had with Rey. The late-night whispers as they lay in their bunks. The confession Rose shared with Rey about Finn, about the feeling she had in her stomach every time she saw him and the dread that came with watching him leave. Rey’s response came in her silence, a plethora of scarred reflections coursed through Rey, and it was only now that Rose understood she’d been thinking of Ben. Rey was always at a distance, it didn’t matter how close Rose or Finn or even Leia stood next to Rey, the Jedi was a galaxy away, along with her heart. Biting her lip, Rose sat on the bed, replaying every memory she had of Rey. The woman trained alone, meditated alone, and would have eaten alone every day had it not been for Finn or herself calling Rey to join them. Once on a forest base, on a planet in the outer rim, Rose heard Rey wake from a nightmare, her screams subsiding only when a single ghost of a name in the tone of a question breached her lips; Ben and when no answer came to Rey, Rose heard the sobs to follow. Pale for days afterward, Rose tried again and again to approach the woman, but Rey brushed off the attempt with the same excuses. ‘I’m tired,’ ‘I just need to rest,’ and the most despairing response of all ‘I’m fine.’ It was there all along, and no one seemed to notice the lone Jedi drowning in a galaxy of hopelessness except the man who everyone thought she was meant to slay.

 _We’ve done her so wrong_ , Rose looked back to the closed door, approached it, and finding a new tray with food that was now cooled, she picked it up and took it inside. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey calls for help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my characters, the mouse owns everything.

Clad in a bantha leather cloak with a scimitar and ore mask dotted with bloodstains, Rey hid the subdued bounty hunter she’d used to gain the getup behind a heap of trash. On the other side of the temple, Rey adopted a fuller understanding of the layout and locating a long pathway leading from the collection of cells Finn and the others were housed in to another docking bay a kilometer or so away with plenty of vessels to escape in an idea formed. It all began with locating the other Resistance fighters first. Now able to move about the temple with little worry she’d be discovered, Rey kept her lightsaber hidden, her head up, and profile low. The many open rooms offered by the temple, the same ones once used by mystics for prayer and meditation, were now sullied with the oozing smell of slugs and their awful business of treating sentient beings as slaves. Entering into a den, a lower area of the temple, Rey discovered a large table set before ten or so Hutts, each dressed in fine jewelry and each having at a minimum two to three slaves tending to them. Food both from the moon and abroad layout before the slugs, fruits, cured meats, pastries glistening with glazed sugar, and more. While some Hutts swallowed servings whole, others spoke in guttural tongues as they brought up business and money, and still, a couple kept calculated silence as they put a pipe to their lips and inhaled deeply. Stationed at every entrance and along the walls were the hired military men, ex-Stormtroopers, and bounty hunters. 

“Tell me, troop, what has happened to bring you here?” Behind Rey, an old bounty hunter standing no taller than Rey asked his question to a Stormtrooper.

“Haven’t you heard? The First Order is bleeding.” The Stormtrooper without his helmet leaned against the wall, his auburn hair carrying dirt and ash from his current job. He was young, too young to have been around for the Empire and possibly much too young to have formed any kind of true allegiance with the First Order. The man’s eyes spoke of freedom, but his gestures, his very words were becoming too hardened to the idea that such a thing could exist. First Order, Hutts, he’d always have a master to serve. 

“I suppose it’s all the same. My previous employers are well organized. The First Order will eventually get their act together and reclaim some control, although full control will never happen.” The Stormtrooper prepared to walk away, but the old man had another question.

“What of Snoke? I served that shriveled mystic for years only to have him cast me and my lot out. Still, there is a bounty on his head even though no one will touch it.”

“Snoke? Well, he’s been dead for a while now, killed the same time as the Battle of Crait.”

“Where you there?” The old man asked forcefully, his weapon wavering, but the Stormtrooper ignored the sudden shake towards violence, he may be young, but he was used to this sort of thing.

“I was on the ground, on Crait when the message came through that the Supreme Leader was dead, sure enough, that creature of a servant he had, Kylo Ren, came to power. What a mess that was.” The Stormtrooper spoke openly, and as if catching his words looked over his shoulder prepared to find the shadow of a man coming for him.

“Kylo Ren,” The old man huffed and beat his chest.

“The mighty Kylo Ren. He’ll have much to answer for when the time comes. There are some guilds answering to monsters even greater than he and all want a piece of the creature responsible for their halted trade.”

“I think everyone has their weapons trained on Kylo Ren, you’d be hard-pressed to find a planet or moon in this galaxy he didn’t lay siege to, but I think they’ll all have to wait. Last I heard Kylo Ren didn’t come out of the final battle.”

“Is that so?” The old man questioned, not convinced.

“I’ve lived through the Empire and before that the reign of power the Jedi claimed was for the common good if there is anything I know it’s that this galaxy is better without the mystics. Those Force following fools have caused unending scars on countless generations. I’d kill Kylo Ren and his whole lot for nothing more than a used blaster.” The old man laughed at his own cruelty before continuing.

“Kylo Ren is still alive, mark my words, boy. He’s a snake, the kind that when you cut his head off, he’ll just regrow another one with bigger fangs and less of a heart.” The Stromtrooper, while unmoved by the man’s words, nodded his head. When the conversation was long over, Rey realized she’d been standing still, like stone, and her face as well carried with it a feeling of frozen anger. Tilting her head, she caught sight of the old bounty hunter, of the belt he kept around his waist and the many notches that came with every kill and underneath it a knife for every man in this room. When Rey licked her lips, she could still taste Ben, his kindness, and everything that wasn’t Kylo Ren, and for that simple act alone, she wanted to pull her lightsaber and cut through the air of the den straight to the old man.

 _It isn’t right_ , Rey said to herself for so many reasons. Thankful for the mask and all the emotions it allowed her face to have without notice, Rey strode forward, letting the man go, and for a moment, Rey understood what made a helmet partially appealing. At the other end of the den, a set of stairs brought Rey even deeper into the temple to a long hall with an impressive high ceiling and finally another set of doors.

“Who’s in here?” Rey asked the guards in a grave tone, one forceful enough to make the guards think she was sent by the Hutts herself.

“Resistance Fighters. Soon to be sold off to the First Order.” One guard answered.

“I’m in the right place then. I’m here to relieve you.” When the duo cocked their heads at Rey, she removed her mask, lifted a hand to the air, and spoke tranquilly.

“You’ll leave this place, go upstairs, and take whatever vessel you’d like.” The duo went limp, sighed heavily, and without another word, turned for the stairs. Once gone, Rey faced the panel, and sweeping her hand through the air gently opened it to reveal a hoard of people.

“It’s Rey!” A woman whispered from the floor, her injuries obvious even in the dim light. All around, sitting against walls, resting on crates, or laying on the floor were dozens of people, mostly wounded. Too many wounded. Clenching her hands, a dread rolled into Rey.

“Are there more of you?” Rey asked, and a voice from the back answered, Aftab Ackbar.

“There’s another two or three rooms filled with people.” A cold sweat leveled across Rey, she was going to need help. 

Tools precisely placed next to one another on an unraveled piece of cloth, Ben picked his chosen instrument as he fixed Rose’s x-wing. Nearly buried in sand, Ben spent most of his early morning resurrecting the beast of machinery from the storm’s leavings. Sand in everything, lacerations from weapons Ben identified as belonging to the Frist Order, and dents from the pelting wind the ex-Supreme Leader now mechanic had his work cut out for him. Gently, Ben ran his hands over the vessel, allowing it to dictate what needed more attention. If anyone had been watching Ben, they might have commented on the oddity of the Force being used for such a curious task, but for Ben, the Force spoke little of the x-wing. No, it was his father’s voice he heard now and Han’s teachings that ticked away what needed attention first. Flinching at every bit of advice, Ben stopped when the voice was too much and picked up his work when the pain abated for a moment. An abysmal tide tugged at Ben, rolling him deeper into grasping dark waters, but Ben kept swimming, waiting, and hoping the sable would dissipate, and perhaps one day Han would be standing there, speaking without the pierce of red-yellow that came with thoughts of his father.

Two of the engines proved to be the main problem, everything else appeared to be more aesthetic than anything else, even the fire damage done to the empennage wasn’t enough to prevent the x-wing from taking off once the engines were taken care of. Gloves on, an extra layer of clothing to protect himself from the sun, and Ben picked away at the x-wing, in the same way, one of the Mos Eisley locals would pick the grains of sand from one of their precious credits. The soft clinking of metal on metal, the tinge of oil wafting through the air only to disappear once a breeze came through, and the occasional pause as Ben wiped the sweat from his brow. It was like this for hours, in the same way, Ben remembered from his childhood when his father showed him everything under the sun; every tool, every vessel, every part, and between it all Han’s pride as Ben missed none of it. Those memories, as Ben recalled just before the suns set, soon became tainted with fresher recollections. When Ben left home with Luke and the duo traveled from one far-reaching planet to the next, it was Ben’s uncle who took up the mantel of teaching Ben. 

As Luke was with the Force, so he was with anything that could fly. Luke taught Ben an archive of information when it came to fixing things, and while those short moments were ones echoing with laughter as Luke let Ben fly what Leia would deem to be too dangerous, too soon it turned into an avalanche. Luke built his temple, trained the other students, Snoke’s voice in Ben’s head became stronger, and like an extinguished candle, everything leaped into darkness. Ben didn’t want help fixing anything, he wanted to be alone, sometimes purposefully broke things so that he could fix them far away from the prying eyes of others.

In the desert’s darkness, Ben returned to the homestead just as the night tilted into midnight. Dropping his tools off at the workshop, Ben rummaged through the galley after washing his hands. Smirking at the grease stains left behind from Rey, who rarely washed her hands after fixing something covered in oil. Removing enough food for him and Rose, Ben prepared a stew, one Luke didn’t often make because he hated the taste, but Ben found himself making whenever he was alone. Extra vegetables and bits of unripe fruit went well with the meat. Pouring up a bowl for him and Rose, Ben decanted some water for the tray destined for Rose. The slide of Ben and Rey’s bedroom door stilled Ben, and slowly he looked out into the darkness of the courtyard from the galley. Nothing moved, nothing showed itself, but Ben felt eyes on him. Removing his glance from the courtyard, Ben took his bowl and sat at the galley’s table, keeping himself mindfully still. The shape of what could have been a ghost, but was proven to be Rose formed over the courtyard as the woman, wrapped in a blanket, crossed the small patch of sand. Remembering what his mother told him once, about his gaze being unreadable at times, Ben kept his eyes from Rose, not wanting to unintentionally signal some warning to her. Still, Ben peeked from his periphery if only to watch the woman settle at the very opposite end of the table, as far from Ben as she could be. An amplifier of sorts, Rose’s stubborn hold in the Force yelped with fury, a reactive tongue, but underneath it all a penchant for understanding. The woman thought of more, as well, of people Ben wasn’t familiar with, with the exception of one; Finn. Rey thought of Finn often, and by that design, Ben knew Finn’s presence in the Force and so recognized it in Rose as well.

“Why are you keeping Rey from the war?” Rose’s glass voice promised sharp edges, and so Ben didn’t speak.

“She’s here, while we’re fighting. While people are being captured. While people are dying.” Rose’s thoughts turned to her sister, to the fire that consumed her.

“I lost my sister to the war, to the First Order.” The words were harsh, sullied over in Rose’s lack of repeating them more often as she promised herself she would.

“Paige Tico, that’s her name, and you took her from me.” Ben made no move to answer. He waited in the light of a woman filled sorrow, and within the Force he allowed Rose’s anger and above all her sadness to pour into him, but no matter how much he let in, the replete of agony continued.

“I lost my mother,” Ben spoke slowly, forming his words in a voice that would soothe instead of incite. At once, the man felt guilty for even mentioning his mother, but he forced himself onward.

“I almost lost Rey,” Ben began, but a sudden flinch stopped him from continuing. Unnoticed by Ben, Rose’s gaze softened, she wasn’t familiar with what happened to Rey, with how she survived the final battle, and by the looks of it, Ben wasn’t going to speak a word of it. The man’s lips quivered momentarily before he looked up at Rose.

 _He could be anyone_ , Rose thought, and before she forced the idea away, she pictured Ben with the Resistance all along.

With few places to find unoccupied by bounty hunters, slugs, or ex-Stormtroopers, Rey bit against the rising dread inside herself and went back to the long hallway were Finn and Poe waited. The back and forth of the Jedi’s options reared against the fact she and those Resistance members capable of fighting were well outnumbered and heavily out-weaponed. The Force had the answer, it remained at Rey’s core in silence, but still, the woman persisted against it, flung herself in every direction except the only path leading to some resolve.

 _Now isn’t the time_ , Rey thought, convincing herself she and Ben still had time left to just be. At the panel leading into the cell Finn, Poe, and a few others were housed in, Rey sunk herself into meditation, into the Force, into her core. The answer was there. Opening her eyes to the beginnings of tears, Rey removed her mask and then opened the door just enough to enter. Inside, Finn raced for his friend, felt her trembling, and then calm within his embrace. Hugging him tighter, Rey willed herself to trust the Force, to trust her friends, and above all hope.

“You’re not going to like our odds,” Poe thought the tremble in Rey’s voice had something to do with what she saw beyond their cell and so waited with arms crossed and a dare growing in his eyes.

“The others are fine, but most of them are injured, they’ll need help getting out. Chewie’s tied up outside the temple in a pit, I think they might have a rancor somewhere. They’re going to sell us. That’s the plan to sell everyone to the First Order. There’s a platform to the east of the temple with plenty of vessels to escape on, but it’s not close.”

“I’m waiting for the bad news,” Poe answered, but the joke did nothing to quiet the tremble running through Rey.

“For every one of us, there are twenty ex-Stormtroopers. We don’t have the weapons or the manpower.” Rey’s voice suddenly turned soft, tranquil as she faced the opposite direction of Finn and Poe.

“Rey?” Finn asked, exchanging a questioning glance with Poe.

“We don’t have the time.” Rey lowered her head before looking back at Finn and Poe. A tear-filled set of eyes watched the men, their concern, and misunderstanding. It was only going to get more confusing from here, more silent, perhaps even more dangerous.

“We can get out of here, but…” Rey began, but there was no way to describe what she was about to do.

“But, what, Rey?” Now Finn was the one with a trembling voice.

“Do you both trust me?” A rush of battles flashed between the two men, ones where they were outnumbered, surrounded by the enemy, and prepared for a final battle cry, that is until Rey, in all her unknown power, came through. Besides the battles, there were quiet moments as well, ones spent with the Jedi who by her presence alone had this ability to heal the very air people breathed.

“Yes.” Finn and Poe answered together.

In a grasp never to be isolated again, Rey thrummed her call through space, making it clear what lay on the other side should she be answered. The plunge of tears from the edge of an eye that had seen too much, but never enough when it came to Ben, witnessed her call answered in haste, in the time it took for a heart to stir or a hand to touch. At first, it was his eyes, skin speaking of the sun, and then finally the stature of man whose every intent relaxed on Rey. Gasps filled the room, Rey heard the clamor of Resistance fighters putting as much space between them and the corner Kylo Ren boomed from. Rey’s eyes begged Ben to keep his gaze on her, not on the room, not on the Resistance fighters, not on Poe or Finn, but only on her. Eyes moored to Rey’s gaze, and once the room settled, the Jedi spoke.

“We need your help.” Ben’s reaction was impassive to the room, perhaps even read as unfeeling, but to Rey, it coursed with more action than any battle she’d been through. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and Ben come to the rescue of the Resistance and Ben does some stuff only his grandfather would understand. Also, I cried more than usual while writing this chapter. Too bad tear stains don't show up on screen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These character don't belong to me, they belong to the mouse.

“What…was…that?” Rose’s question hung in the stiff air of the galley, gaze not wandering far from where Rey had just appeared, worn bantha leather and all. Even before the appearance of eyes in the middle of the galley, a sudden change shook over Ben. Going out of his way to remain still in Rose’s presence, Ben’s adroit regard for stillness was quickly absorbed by something unseen. The man’s gaze drew back, his neck twisted to the empty spot in the galley, and he became as stone with a willingness to wait as such until whatever had his attention appeared. For Rose, the precursors to Rey’s appearance were ones she’d felt, but otherwise ignored as being apprehensive around Ben. A tightening in her stomach, the air around her churning with a charge as if a storm were nearby, and finally a tingle in her eyes.

Ben didn’t answer Rose’s question, but sensing the woman’s healed state, he asked a question of his own.

“Are you feeling good enough to raid a Hutt’s palace?” In answer Rose came to her feet, flung the blanket from its place on her shoulders, and fastened a new gaze to herself, not one mounted with a changing disdain for the creature in front of her, but one gathering with more firepower than any Hutt and his cronies could handle. Leading the way, Ben rushed for his room, stood in the middle attempting to remember what he’d lost, and then with hastened recall, he reached for the place below his and Rey’s bed and removed a blaster, the same blaster he’d used on Exegol, and the one Rey took with her when she left the damned world. Handing it grip first to Rose, Ben rushed back outside and headed for the recently repaired x-wing. The moons glistening above the desert promised a smooth take off, Tatooine would not be keeping Ben or Rose from their destination. The storm was long gone and in its wake a fresh start. 

“What about you?” Rose scurried behind Ben, her legs running to match his long walk. The question caught Ben off guard almost as much as Rose, and he almost forgot to answer.

“I have the Force.” The man rumbled before scaling the x-wing and taking the co-pilot’s seat. Rose paused, looking over the repaired x-wing. Blaster in hand, Rose looked from the weapon to the blaster, back to the x-wing. It was two against an entire army with nothing more than a blaster, a beat-up x-wing, and some hope.

“Did you seal the sump in engine one?” Rose asked, placing her helmet on her head and igniting the x-wing’s engines one by one.

“I replaced it,” Ben confirmed from the back with a smile he kept to himself as the x-wing roared to life with a fuller menace than before.

“What about the alloys, were those replaced? Also, this x-wing isn’t going to get us far if the blades are caked over in sand. The shrouds needed to be cleaned as well. Oh, and did you replace the trijet?” Ben mentally checked off every one of Rose’s questions before getting to the last one. Twisting his head so that he could make out the back of Rose’s head, the man’s question was apparent on his brow. 

“The trijet?”

“That one was a test.” The mechanic looked over the x-wing’s analytics and pleased with what she saw she dropped any further inquiry. Rose took for the sky, her aim for the moons, and beyond them Yavin 4.

The Jedi slouched, a weight swept from her shoulders and crashed with the silence around her. A shred of promise bloomed in front of Rey, a rose among the growing maddening silence and the burning eyes she knew waited once she faced Finn, Poe, and the others. The Force, it seemed, tapped at Rey’s memory or rather pulled a sheet from some unseen possibility, that is the possibility of what Rey’s life would have been like had she and Ben never reunited. Air sucked from Rey’s lungs, this heinous false recall was a blood-sucking monster, a raider of the spirit with venom poised to extend a single moment and make it feel as a lifetime. Alone became a tedious word, a brittle definition too extraneous to grasp what Rey felt filling her bones. Cold, unbelievable cold wafted through the woman as a void with a feeling the size of a grain of sand wedged itself inside her. Scratching itself into her every vain, the single grain touched along organs, leaving a trail of spreading anguish until it cut across her heart where it created a stealing bleed. One drop at a time, one tear at a time, one night at a time, Rey saw this life played out in front of her. Bare in ways demanding a sedative that would never come, from the inside out, Rey collapsed, and the single grain took root in her brokenness. Still, the woman of strength denied hate into her soul, but this did little to rummage her heart back together. Collapsing became a series of events revolving around isolation as Rey moved from place to place, lost count of the days between speaking a solitary word and none at all. Ghosts were always with her, but _he_ was locked inside of her and became the sole warmth keeping her from freezing to death in the middle of a sweltering desert. 

Suddenly, Rey just wanted Ben with her, next to her, holding her hand, she was desperate to know he was alive. 

The weight came back, full force, heavier than before and rearing as beast prepared to crush whoever dare try to carry it. Rey took up the burden, placed it on her shoulders, and turned. Rey hoped the revelation would bring some ease, but it didn’t. For a long time after the Battle of Crait, Rey’s top concern, among many others, was what her connection to Kylo Ren meant. Was Snoke truly responsible? Could Kylo Ren manipulate it, did it mean Ben could come back, and if he did, what did that mean for her? There were more nightmares rushing through Rey’s head than stars in the galaxy, and so many of them balanced themselves on the idea of Finn and Poe knowing about the connection. The connection itself was pregnable, something that could be misunderstood or seen as an enemy, but for Rey, it was as if she were bare to the world. A nakedness ran over the woman and reflected in Ben from so far away. For both of them, their bond was an ultimate sensitivity. Something, that if Ben and Rey had met absent from the life they’d been handed, if they’d just met in some garden on Naboo and the connection developed there then no one would ever find out, but here in the middle of a battle with the responsibilities of a Jedi weighing down on Rey, she had no choice.

Turning, Rey wasn’t surprised to find Finn’s unblinking gaze molding over her, trying to place her as if he didn’t recognize her. The trust drained from their eyes and, in its place, a seeping knowledge that gradually drowned them in questions they couldn’t form with their lips, let alone their betrayed minds. Rey felt a whirlwind of disbelief flood through Finn, and he questioned what he saw more than Rey. 

_They’ll see_ , Rey thought. _When Ben gets here, they’ll see he’s not what he seems_ , but even as Rey told this to herself, she watched as one of Poe’s hands formed into a fist as if he’d wished there were a weapon there and that Kylo Ren were standing before him.

“He’s alive,” Poe’s words were airless, grasping, and inside him, a storm pitted itself against all that the Resistance had done almost declaring that unless Kylo Ren was truly dead than all they’d done had little meaning. Poe wasn’t one to fear, and when the hold of terror took the man, he often replaced it with the will power to overcome. Still, to this day, Poe could feel the pain of having knowledge pulled from his mind as if the day he was captured on Jakku, Kylo Ren were plucking his teeth out one by one. Poe lowered his head, and slowly approached Rey, his gaze locked on the Jedi. 

“What have you done?” Poe’s shaking question buffeted against Rey. Gritting her teeth, Rey held back the want to speak of all that Ben Solo had done for her, of what it meant to be brought back to life by the only person capable of making her feel whole. Poe waved his hand in the air.

“I’m going to disregard the Jedi back of beyond sorcery I just witnessed and settle on a more important question. How is he alive, and what does it mean that he is?” Poe asked not fazed by the Jedi’s daring watch. While the general always had a respect for the Force, its sensitives, and believers, ever since Rey began to isolate herself after the Battle of Crait and later start to separate herself from the others, it dawned on Poe that the Force wasn’t something that picked sides and as a result, the Resistance’s best fighter was subject to something unmoved to seeing the Resistance survive. 

“It means Rose is alive, and both of them are coming to help get us out of here.”

“Kylo Ren is with Rose!” Finn brought himself to stand next to Poe, his gaze just as shaking as Rey’s. 

“ _Ben_ saved her when she crashed.” At the use of Kylo Ren’s given name, Poe rolled his eyes and turned from Rey.

“I can’t believe this-“ Poe began, but Rey stopped him.

“How many times have I seen you accept ex-Stormtroopers? How many times have you trained bombers who once worked with the First Order?”

“Many of those people were inducted when they were children, and they had no choice.” Poe shot back, now face to face with Rey. Rey cocked her head, waiting for Poe to conclude that Ben Solo had a similar background.

“The son of General Organa and Captain Solo was not taken from his family and forced to fight in a war he didn’t sign up for, but he did okay the capture of other children,” Poe yelled back.

“Kylo Ren is a scourge against the galaxy and the blood of many rests on his hands.”

“ _Ben_ fell, just like his grandfather, and when he got back up, he became the man he was before, just like his grandfather,” Rey yelled back.

“That’s just a myth, Rey. Darth Vader never did a single thing that wasn’t for the Empire.” Red claimed Poe’s cheeks, and he stepped closer to Rey.

“You’re wrong! Luke Skywalker would have never survived had it not been for his father.” Poe paused, he admitted to himself he’d never known Luke in the same way as Rey. 

“You know nothing of the Force, of what it means to be manipulated your whole life and feel you have no other choice.”

“Yeah, well, let’s just hope _Ben_ hasn’t manipulated you.” Poe made the final shot leaving Rey quiet, fuming, but knowing. 

Yavin 4 swept below Rose and Ben, its lush bounty smoking with mist and churning the planet into an eerie calm. Tangled over with vines, the vista built up to hills only to sink into valleys as it hide all its dangers. So high above it all, Ben could place himself somewhere else, in a place no threat was capable of touching, but below the urgencies of so many flooded through him. Not even over the Great Temple and Ben sensed a plethora of captured and enslaved, the tide of emotions wrestled with Ben, and for the first time in a very long time, Ben allowed himself to feel the pain of others, allowed pity to fill him. The jungle rang in a clamor promising bloodshed as the x-wing approached the Great Temple, and while Rose intended to land somewhere away from the temple, Ben posed the question if she was willing to fly over the temple.

“Why?” The woman asked, prepared to tell Ben that the x-wing was perfectly capable of giving her some schematics of the temple without flying over.

“There’s too much mist covering the temple. If we fly over quickly, they won’t notice we were even there.” Ben’s answer wasn’t much of an answer, but Rose noticed the same serene tone in his voice that Rey got when she made a suggestion that always proved to be vital to a mission. Flying higher above the mist, Rose swept over the blanketed temple until Ben told her to stop.

“Stop?”

“Stop,” Ben confirmed, and as soon as Rose hovered the x-wing Ben overrode the x-wing’s capsule lock. With the cockpit taking in the fetid gush of the jungle below, Rose swirled around to find Ben stepping from his seat and onto a wing.

“Great Force! What are you doing?!” Rose screamed, reminding herself not to tilt the x-wing least she accidentally sends Ben flying to the world below. Ben either didn’t hear Rose or ignored her as he placed one foot in front of the other and stepped off the x-wing. In a grace Rose found herself amused by, Ben sank feet first into the mist below, weaponless, probably plan-less, but prepared to take down an entire Hutt operation.

Chewie’s arms had begun to throb hours ago as the chains digging into his wrists held him in place at the center of a mud-filled pit. His dense fur dreadlocked, the Wookiee lowered his head when the reoccurring memory of his first meeting with Han came back. The Wookiee wondered if this was it, if now, after ending the war, it was time to meet his end. Groaning at the idea, Chewie found resolve in knowing that perhaps Han would be waiting for him…and Leia, as well. Overcome again, the Wookiee called out in grief, feeling the swell of his chest as a heart broke again and again. Chewie smelled the soar sweat of a rancor, heard its shallow growls from behind the gate and the laughter of others as they gathered around the pit. Chewie knew that the bounty on his head was probably not worth the absolute trouble he would cause. The time was coming, and Chewie was ready, no matter what.

Spit flew at the Wookiee, soldiers laughed as the gate began to open, pulling with it the dregs of mud and debris. The light of the morning barely pierced through the cavern holding the rancor, but all too soon, a pair of eyes caught what little light there was. The muddied beast stepped forward, its small eyes gleaming at the sun above and then finally centering on the Wookiee before it. Chewie could smell only the rancor and its very empty stomach. Lowering itself to step from the cavern, the rancor entered the rest of the mud pit and half-walked, half-swam towards its prey. Chewie growled the entire time, sending his most ferocious roar toward the beast and all it intended. Unpersuaded, the rancor reared its head back, sweat rolling off its neck and down to the mud below before letting loose a scream of its own. If the Wookiee hadn’t smelled worse, he probably would have gagged at the scent pouring from the rancor’s agape mouth. Stained teeth growing at odd angles promised to attack soon. The rancor lifted its heavy head once more, prepared to bring it down upon the Wookiee teeth and all. Chewbacca stared up at the beast, pulled against his restraints, bellowed the loudest he’d ever had, and was pleased to see some soldiers turn away in agony as their ears stung, but something paused the rancor.

The rancor stepped back, its massive body tilting backward, and when it turned, a slow recognition hit Chewie. On the rancor’s back was the sturdy form of a man. Fist in fist, the man brought down his only weapons upon the rancor’s head to the sound of smashing bone. Chewie heard the soldiers gasp, some even called out what Chewie had not seen. The man came from the sky.

Unaffected by the man sitting on its neck, the rancor pulled forward, and as it did the man reached his hand out into the distance and claimed a lancet from one of the bounty hunters some several meters away. The lancet came flying, and instead of going to the man’s hand, it struck through the side of the rancor’s head, went nearly all the way through until its tip could be seen on the other side of the head. The rancor fell to the mud below, causing a wave of mud to hit Chewie and temporarily blind the Wookiee, but still the Wookiee could see a man walk from the beast’s back, down its snout, and to the mud. 

_Han_? Chewie was confused, not entirely believing what he saw before him. His best friend, it couldn’t be. 

_No, Ben_! Beyond surprised, the Wookiee didn’t react when Ben reached for his cuffs and undid them with the Force alone. Standing before Chewie, Ben waited for some realization, and when it didn’t come Ben said something about getting out of here before there’s no time. Ben turned, and Chewie grabbed for his shoulders as a flood of anguish ruptured the Wookiee’s mind. Han was gone. Luke was gone. Leia was gone. A grip firm and unrelenting bent into the man’s shoulders, but it was nothing compared to the grief he held in the same place. Ben didn’t fight instead, he spoke the truth.

“We have to get the others out of here, Chewie.” The grip loosened, and Ben turned to face Chewbacca. Pain reflected in both of them, lose, anger, but beneath it, there was something else. Chewie tried to shake away the memories of Ben as a baby, a swaddled cooing infant that, when placed in Chewie’s arms, grabbed hold of his fur and never let go. Wiping the mud from his brow, Chewie didn’t answer Ben instead, he took the lead towards the hangar. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben helps the Resistance escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own these characters, the mouse does.

Gardulla Besadii sliced her eyes over the other Hutts gathered around the table. A stone table from an age Gardulla barely remembered, but it proved large enough to seat her and her guests. The temple’s den smelled of expensive t'bac as it poured from the mouths of nearly every Hutt sitting at the table. Half-eaten bites of food rested all over the stone along with empty cups, and dancers kept up their movement despite having been dancing for what felt like forever. The den wafted with talk of business occasionally interrupted by the furious row of a Hutt who’d been offended, but it all carried on without a single clue as to what was going on upstairs. As an elder, Gardulla expected more respect, and when she received so little, it vexed her. Feeling the agitation within her stir, the Hutt cut down her thoughts and invested in ones of power and a rekindled prestige that would come with time. The drinks flowed, the food was perfect, and the dancers plentiful in the temple’s inner chamber. Surrounded by bounty hunters, it was easy for Gardulla to believe herself untouchable and in so many ways she was. With the festivities came a more gregarious air as the Hutts Gardullla reviled began to turn to her with talk of partnerships. This was what she’d been waiting for. Those captured Resistance fighters were hers, all of them, and the First Order was willing to pay for them. It wouldn’t be much, but for Gardulla, it wasn’t about the credits. There was more to her plan. The Frist Order was falling apart, their bases beginning to scatter, and their hold was slipping fast. The First Order needed a little help, and Gardulla was willing to give it for the right deal.

Time, that’s what Gardulla kept track of. Gardulla had plenty of time behind her and still more to come. She’d seen the rise and fall of the Jedi, the Empire, and now the Frist Order. She knew wounded power when she saw it, and now was the time to strike, to take back trade routes the First Order now ran. But, there was more. Gardulla had many ideas and plans more filling than any Hutt meal. As the Hutts gurgled along with deals and shoddy schemes, Gardulla introduced ideas bit by bit until everyone at the table was in compliance or rather in her hand. The First Order was contacted, and once they arrived to pick up their prize, a negotiation would take place first. Gardullla, with her army of bounty hunters, would make a deal the Frist Order would be unable to refuse.

The ruckus of a Gran bounty hunter being flung down the stairs and sliding across the den’s floor paused conversation, but only for a moment as the Hutts took in the sight of the Gran’s body pierced with a flail. Waving her hand almost absentmindedly, Gardulla signaled for one of her bounty hunters to check on the mess above, no doubt a game of Sabacc had gone wrong.

A sharp inhale, and chill ran through Rey. _He’s here_. In silence, in the darkened corner of the cell where she’d been waiting and avoiding Finn’s eyes, Rey understood it was time.

“Ben’s here. He’s got Chewie.” The woman removed her lightsaber, shook off the poncho she’d been wearing, and stood before the door prepared to open it.

“How do you know?” Poe asked, but quickly learned the question would go unanswered. With her back to the others, Rey spoke softly to the Poe, Finn, and the others locked inside the cell.

“Across the hangar, down the stairs, and through the den, we’ll find the others. We’ll collect weapons along the way. When we get everyone out, there’s a bridge leading to an attached dock. There’s plenty of vessels to take.” Rey waited for confirmation, for some sign that the others had heard her, and when she thought no such thing would come, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“You’ve got it, Rey.” Finn’s deep voice answered.

Outside the cell, the hangar was in chaos as Ben and Chewie handled a barrage of bounty hunters attacking them from all angles. Ben and Chewie’s entrance was quickly followed by the closing of the hangar’s entrance leaving only the exit and the long bridge beyond it as a light at the end of the tunnel. With his bowcaster reclaimed along with his bandolier, Chewie climbed for the highest point of the rafters as he poised his weapon at the onslaught of approaching militia. With weapons drawn and yells raging, soldiers came from every chamber, all of them with the single idea of killing the man that would bring them a prize. First, a Twi’lek with blaster drawn and shooting ran for Ben. Ben rushed the bounty hunter, grabbed the blaster, tossed it to his feet, and sent the Twi’lek flying with a single punch. Next, a couple of masked men, handmade electroprods sizzling against the air, aimed for Ben’s chest and head. Dodging the first man, Ben grabbed his electroprod mid-shaft, and pushing it back, knocked the man to the ground unconscious. Whipping the opposite end of the electroprod out, Ben nearly caught the head of the other masked men. This one had a bit more skill on his side, but not enough. The masked man parried Ben’s every move, but little did the man know Ben was only testing the waters. The man’s pride grew, deceived him into believing that the intruder before him was beatable. Raising his electroprod above his head, the man prepared to bring the whole staff down on Ben’s head but found only a perplexing situation as his staff refused to move any further than a meter or so from his intended target. The man’s body was stiff as if he were stone, and then his feet left the earth as he was forced back by something unseen.

Rey, Finn, Poe, and the others arrived at the scene of one man against an army. The cut of blaster shots through the air and salient metal weapons attempting to claim some part of the man’s flesh. His back to the Resistance, Ben sensed Rey’s presence and kicking his leg back he sent the unused blaster at his feet into her hands. The staff was next to go and flew through the air and seamlessly into Rey’s waiting palm. Handing the blaster to Finn and staff to Poe, she ignored their mystified looks. Now wasn’t the time. The group dodged through the mess as the Wookiee from high above shot them a clear pathway free of raging bounty hunters and their unrelenting weapons. To the staircase, Rey went first, her lightsaber out and one end ignited. The pierce of yellow got the Hutt’s attention and their personal guards as well. Rey wasn’t halfway down the stairs when someone shot out the lights in the den sending it into complete darkness. All eyes were on the yellow glow of the only target in the den. The blaster shots rang out and cut through the darkness like shooting stars with a destination. Rey deflected them all, yelled at the men behind her to get down the hallway, and she’d take care of the den.

A snide, disbelieving laugh ruptured the air, followed by a blaster shot that just barely scratched Rey’s right cheek. The Jedi yelled and then charged with lightsaber piercing the darkness. Seemingly no match, the woman stood on one foot while the other kicked back two rearing bounty hunters, her free hand swatted the air sending another solider to the wall, and her lightsaber held back the onslaught of more blaster shots. Still, despite this, Rey felt a pride waft in the Force. Someone unseen was watching her, taking in her every move, and instead of being threatened or even moved to fight, _he_ was delighted. Having enough of this air and the way it regarded Rey as a toy, the Jedi soon realized the Hutts were gone, escorted out through a secret passage, and all that was left was her and him.

“I had a feeling,” An old man’s voice crossed the darkness and was followed by a laugh. Quieting her lightsaber, Rey stood in the darkness, eyes closed, and Force flowing through her, warning her. The old man laughed, and the very action made the room an entire cursed planet with blue and black walls, a throne, and an evil mind waiting to be heard. No, that _thing_ was gone, and this man was some old bounty hunter hiding in the shadows.

“It’s going to be fun hunting you down.” The old man promised, and Rey swore she heard the removal of a knife from its hiding place.

“Protecting that old lump of a Hutt was good money, but this…oh this is what I was made for,” The sliver of a knife through the air didn’t surprise Rey, and she caught the knife by its hilt with ease. Laughter erupted the den, making it hard to tell where the old man was standing.

“The Force isn’t what you think, and whatever Snoke did to you isn’t what’s true of who we are.” The old man who’d been speaking to the ex-Stormtrooper, he carried the same chasmic hatred as the voice. The old man hidden away in the shadows chuckled at the young woman, laughed at her seemingly naïve belief after all the old man had seen what Snoke was capable of, and saw it as an abomination.

“I’ll see you around,” The old man promised, and before Rey could ignite her lightsaber, he was down a secret passage leaving Rey to either help her friends or pursue a man who knew this temple better than her. 

At the wall of closed panels, Finn and Poe directed the other Resistance members to stay low while they took on the small band of soldiers standing guard at the door and separating them from the rest of the Resistance.

When an ex-Stormtrooper still in his First Order gear stepped forward, Finn waved his hand at Poe to lower his weapon. Finn, as well, placed the blaster in his hand so that the barrel was facing the ground. The move brought confusion to the soldiers, made them question what it meant for an enemy with the upper hand to lower their weapons.

“Were you all with the First Order?” Finn’s question brought numb glances and redirected stares. It was answer enough.

“I was too,” Finn’s calm response was like a sedative, a living dream that it was possible to have a will of one’s own instead of one molded by a stranger’s hands. Finn turned his head to look down the hallway he’d just come from, a dangerous move to turn one’s back on the enemy, but Finn felt these men were closer to friends than enemies.

“What are you doing here? The Hutts are no better than the First Order.” The lost gazes stared at the man before them, waiting, hoping that there was more. It occurred to Finn that his next question was possibly one they had never been asked in their entire life.

“What do you want?” Spoken as a foreign language, the compassion in Finn’s voice was both felt but not understood. One man’s lips trembled, thoughts of his home resurfaced, and he mumbled an answer about a faraway planet, and his family he hoped was still there. Their limbs went slack, their weapons drooped, and even as they heard the ghostly voice of their previous leader yelling at them to pull together and kill the enemy, they wanted nothing else but to return home.

“When we leave this place, we’re taking every vessel we can. Come with us and take one for yourselves. Go home.” That last word, the single blossoming word, was a thorn in their nightmares and dreams, a pulsing recall that begged them to follow the pain back to its origin if only to wipe it clean.

“Be free.” Finn offered, the men exchanged glances, regrouped, and stepped aside to allow all of them passage. The massive panel door opened, revealing the many locked inside, the injured, and the message that all were still willing to fight. Once Rey’s name spread through the crowd, a revitalized hope spread, and so the weak gained their last bit of strength and handed it over to the injured so that they could be helped to their feet. More doors were opened along the hallway, and from the shadows, Resistance members and slaves alike came forward. What weapons were present were passed to those most able bodied enough to handle them. 

“I’m not going to lie. It looks bad up there,” Poe began, thumbs under his belt and eyes circling the crowd before him.

“We have Rey, we have each other, so nothing can stand between us and freedom. Above there is a bridge leading to our escape. Freedom already belongs to everyone in this room, and if you’re not here to kill us, then you’re more than welcome to walk out of this place with us.” By sparks impeded in the eyes of Resistance members, Poe knew it was only a matter of time before it spread to the others. A single battle would be the turning point between destitute, misused, and beaten to reborn, promising, and, most of all, hopeful.

“There is an entire galaxy above us, one freeing itself from the First Order, injustice and oppression. Those stories you’ve heard of a handful of fighters against entire armies of Star Destroyers are true. All it takes is a little to do the right thing.” A sudden blaze in the air paused Poe. He’d done it. In the same way as General Organa had, and for a moment, the man swore he saw the general standing in the back, her eyes watching him, and a smile over her lips.

Above Ben waged his entire weight into a stolen gaffi stick as he pushed back a rather strong Rodian determined to cut Ben down with one of his many long knives. Flipping backward, the Rodian exchanged glances with his partners before all three agreed to rush Ben at the same time. Knives out, speeding towards Ben, the man dodged the first attacker, sent him spinning head over feet into another. The second and third threw their weapons at the same time, Ben caught one while the other sliced the fabric of his clothing, but missed his flesh. The two Rodian’s paused at the sight of the beast with a knife in his hand. No one had ever caught one of their knives or had been able to avoid its point. Ben felt their fear rear up and then sink as they ran for him once more, but they were too slow. With the knife, Ben aimed and caught his target while with his other hand, he swept the gaffi stick and knocked the other attacker to the ground. The Rodian knew what was good for him and stayed on the ground.

Feeling a surge of relief pulse in the Force, Rey ascended the stairs with the other Resistance members. Counting the many injured, Ben mirrored Rey’s thoughts. There were many in need of an extra hand and an entire bridge between them and their escape. Across the hangar, Rey met Ben’s gaze. Their concerns were exchanged, followed by a lilt. Cocking his head, Ben didn’t understand until he glanced around him. The bodies of several well trained and experienced bounty hunters lay either in hopes the man before them would leave soon or in injury. Ben caught Rey’s impressed smile and the shake of her head as she refocused on something other than admiring Ben. Many of the Resistance fighters were already making their way beneath the hangar door and towards the bridge when a shake to the floor caused many to stop and search for a disturbance. They’d find none, but for Rey and Ben, the cause was clear. The Hutts guards weren’t done with them yet. The hangar doors were closing, and from above, Ben heard Chewie’s warning to the Resistance ring out as he rushed to their aid.

 _Another one_ , Ben thought and turned to find a rancor barreling towards him. Mouth open, slim dripping from teeth Ben couldn’t see in the darkness, a smell of long eaten flesh entered the hangar. Bellowing, the rancor tilted its head back.

“Ben!” Rey called and threw her lightsaber towards the man who stood before a beast. As the creature prepared to ram Ben and then crush whatever it saw fit of the Resistance, the hangar’s door still lowered as people filed out. Forcing the leaden door from closing any further, Rey strained against the stone weight while glancing behind her. Ben backed away from the rancor, circled, and dodged the beast’s angered hits before igniting the lightsaber. The rancor was quick to turn to Ben and follow him deeper into the hangar. Beginning to feel the ware of the battle, Ben pushed into his exhaustion, forcing himself to run faster. At a wall, Ben ran up the stone, pushed off with his feet, and managed to clear the rancor’s head while digging Rey’s lightsaber into the rancor’s back and while it tore through flesh, Ben held on until his feet met the ground. Enraged, the rancor reached back with frightening speed and knocked Ben several meters back. His body slid across the floor, only to stop when it hit a pile of full crates.

“Ben!” Rey screamed, and the closing door fell ever closer to the ground.

Ben remained on the ground, unmoving, with the rancor getting closer. The mouth of the beast open enough to swallow Ben whole it rushed to the prone man, and just before teeth met flesh, the lightsaber reignited and cut into the rancor’s jaw. A yelp of pain shook the hangar as Ben dug the lightsaber deeper into the rancor’s flesh.

Rey’s vision began to blur, the door above was numb to her in the Force, but somehow she kept it open as a dark shadow rushed towards her. Feeling her torso encircled, Rey was lifted off her feet and into Ben’s arms as they rolled together from under the closing door. Chest heaving, Ben felt Rey’s form on top of his, felt her heartbeat running wildly, but regaining itself. Even the allure of fresh air wasn’t enough to keep Ben down. The man pulled Rey to her feet, and each ran their eyes over the other, buzzed the Force with unvoiced questions of injury. Rey’s gaze was focused on Ben’s muddied boots when she felt a gentle touch to her cheek, a soft pain as Ben’s thumb brushed over the blaster wound given to her by the old man, and the tingle of healed flesh. Before he could draw back his hand, Rey placed hers over it. Ben may have just ended a battle, but his palm held a drenched comfort, a booming hold that Rey wanted all of. Dark eyes turned gentle under the jungle’s glare and feeling the spiking attention at his back, changed to something more somber. _Later_ , Ben thought to himself.

Rey heard the whispers, saw the faces of people she’d never met begin to turn in fear, and at once, she nearly felt hopeless.

 _Ben just saved them, but it’s as if they didn’t witness it at all_ , Rey thought. Shaking off the heaviness in her heart, Rey stood tall and accepted her lightsaber from Ben before marching towards Finn and Poe.

“Come on, we need to keep moving,” Taking up the lead, Rey walked past the staring eyes, towards the bridge and the hike ahead.

“Guys…” A broken voice over a comlink in Finn’s hand, called.

“Rose?” Finn asked, but the voice on the other end couldn’t respond.

“Finn! Watch-“ It was Rose, but her voice rang with a warning Finn didn’t understand. Poe and Finn glanced at one another.

“Something’s wrong,” Poe mentioned, but the words were flooded out by the screech of a far off TIE.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Poe muttered, removing his stolen blaster from his shoulder.

“Alright, we got company-“ The full sentence never left Poe’s mouth as the bridge in front of them exploded, collapsed in on itself and fell to the jungle floor in burning shards. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Lando reunite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own these characters, the mouse does.

“Take cover!” Poe yelled over the crowd. Those with weapons aimed at the source of the explosion without shooting. The jungle was too dense, the target, while towering nearly as high as the trees, was protected for the time being. A trio of AT-ST’s collapsed the trees around them as they focused their attack on the fleeing Resistance soldiers. The screech of cannon fire shook the planet, the smell of a burning world wafted in the air sending those who’d been in similar situations to scramble for immediate control of their senses. Watching the injured with their help climb down the wreckage of the bridge, Rey counted the seconds they had before one of the AT-ST’s reached them. The odds weren’t good.

Looking over her shoulder, Rey found Ben not to be standing where he once was. Instead, the man was halfway across the jungle, a pari of Chewie’s climbing spikes in hand.

“Aim for the joints,” Rey called over her shoulder before she jumped to the waterlogged earth below. Running at an angle for the same AT-ST as Ben, Rey watched as the twin blaster cannon aimed for her and pulled back as they fired. Red coursed through the air, a wave of heat touched Rey, but in time she dodged the shot and escaped for a blind spot. While unnoticeable to anyone watching, Rey perceived Ben’s burning attention on her and the immediate solace when she appeared again in his sight. At the base of an AT-ST, Ben jumped, climbing spikes in hand, and began a steady upward travel until he reached the top. Rey wasn’t far behind, and with nearly two decades of climbing in junkyards under her belt, ascending the moving AT-ST wasn’t an easy task. The woman gritted her teeth, found the small gives in metal, and climbed meeting Ben at the stop. Hard to keep balance, the duo acted quickly to open the port and once inside subdued the operator.

“I’ll trade you,” Rey spoke quickly, handing over her lightsaber to Ben once again while she took control of the AT-ST. Jumping from the Rey operated AT-ST, Ben watched as Rey wobbled the machine to face one of its counterparts before activating the mortar launcher and sending the once standing form to the ground in a heap of fire. Using the trees for meager coverage, Ben swooped from one blind spot to the next until he was at the other AT-ST’s side and with what little strength remained in him he jumped, ignited Rey’s lightsaber, and cut the AT-ST at mid-leg sending it to collapse on the trees and brush next to it. In a moment of reprieve, Ben looked over his shoulder to find the Rey operated AT-ST behind him and waiting. Doubled over for a moment, Ben caught his breath, surveyed the rush of Resistance members and slaves traveling for the unseen dock. A nod to himself and Ben stood back up and ran for the others, preparing for what came next.

All the years spent in the Frist Order told Finn that this wasn’t the last part of this battle. The AT-ST’s were just the beginning. Taking the lead with Poe, they wavered between a quick pace and a slowed jog while the injured caught up. Some needed the aid of others, a few needed to be carried, and many limped their way behind everyone else. Rose managed to contact Finn before being cut short once again. The woman had yet to be noticed by the First Order and reported that wouldn’t be the case soon. With BB-8’s help, she’d also located the Millennium Falcon. Some twenty or so TIEs scouted the jungle not firing just yet, but waiting. With this new intel, Poe sent Chewie to the Millennium Falcon, hoping the First Order didn’t know of their own tricks they had yet to use. When Rey caught up still inside the AT-ST with Ben in her wake, Poe’s confidence grew, but still, the jungle was silent, too silent.

“All right, we’ll stop here!” Poe announced with a raised hand.

“Regroup, rest,” The General called out to the others. At the edge of the party, Rey stopped the AT-ST, disembarked, and jumped to the ground below. Taking off for Finn and Poe, she paused and turned to find Ben leaning against one of the AT-ST’s legs. Nodding her head towards the others, Rey waited for Ben to come to her side before joining the others. Passing through the crowd of people, she went to the front with Ben by her side.

“There’s going to be at least another four to five platoons where we’re going,” Finn offered.

“Even with the AT-ST, we don’t have the firepower.” Finn paused with Rey’s approach, but his eyes weren’t on her; they were on the man standing with her. It was a rare case for Finn to see Kylo Ren’s face as the mask tended to be worn seemingly all the time. Even before he was stationed closer to where Kylo Ren frequented, Finn had heard enough stories to know Kylo Ren wasn’t a man, he was a beast. Finn played clean up one too many times to Kylo Ren’s war zones, to the battlefields popping with the injured and dead. Back then, a haze had followed Kylo Ren where ever he went making those around him shake even when the masked beast wasn’t nearby. Now, was different, but Finn refused that difference as the scar on his back tingled with memory, and the sight of Han Solo falling into an abyss overtook him. Ben flinched and then met Finn’s gaze momentarily. A brief thing, like a single raindrop from the sky, brushed over Finn. No rage in the beast’s eyes, not even a churning dismay, just somberness forever.

Standing tall, Finn refused the beast anymore of his fear. Finn stood wherever he wanted, said whatever he wanted, and allowed not a single bit of his attention to fall on the man standing next to him. Poe noticed the change in Finn, watched as the man curved his lips downward, and placed a single hand on his holstered blaster. Poe glanced at Ben, found so much of Leia in him it made Poe sick. Hands on his hips, Poe took a step closer to Ben, eyed him again before gathering the words to speak, not out of fear, but out of disgust.

“I’m the _general_ here, so is Finn,” It was a reminder to Ben. There used to be another general, but she was gone. 

“Kylo Ren-“ Poe began, but Rey interrupted.

“His name is Ben.” Rey’s correction riveted in the Force, made it so not even the jungle would dare to call the man by anything other than his birth name. 

“Whatever. If you’re going to help us, I need to know your plan.” Poe asked, and Ben answered by looking to Rey.

“ _My idea_ is we wait for confirmation that Chewie has the Falcon and then make our way to the dock.” Rey started, her eyes digging into Poe’s.

“We don’t have many weapons,” Poe reminded the Jedi.

“That’s why you’re going to take the AT-ST and let Ben and I lead the way. Chewie and Rose will come in once we have everyone situated.”

Not long after Rey regrouped with the others, a roaring voice rang out over Finn’s comlink. It was Chewie, he had the Falcon. The plan was shared quickly with Chewie, who had a better way of communicating with Rose. With the injured exhausted and the more able bodies not far behind, Rey, with Finn and Ben at her side, moved slowly through the jungle, allowing the Force to tell her of all the things she didn’t see. In the silence of travel, Rey almost forgot there was an entire people behind her. For a moment, it was just her and Ben. It was impossible not to sense him in the Force as if the two matters were now interchangeable. For Rey, to sense, the Force meant sensing Ben as well. Ben was tired, Rey sensed that first. Not relying on his anger to fight was something he hadn’t done in a very long time, and certainly to this magnitude, it was draining for the man. Rey’s thoughts unintentionally nudged to her own exhaustion. It was an act she realized was done by Ben, and he was right, she was tired. The war was supposed to be over, but it seemed not to be, and Rey feared it never would.

The dock holding what Rey could make out to be a freighter, a yacht, a couple of TIEs, and a few more unrecognizable vessels was leveled above the ground with no lift in sight, but an emergency staircase instead. Below the dock and in between all the metal posts keeping it from collapsing to the jungle floor, a cavern of darkness perfect for a counterattack extended beyond the point Rey could see. For meters surrounding the dock, the brush was smoothed away, making a large open area that once the Resistance passed into, it would be near impossible to remain unseen.

“They’re here,” Rey commented and looked around the dock in search of Stormtroopers.

“They know we’re here,” Ben said so only Rey could hear.

“Right. Are you ready?” The Jedi turned to her counterpart, who nodded once in confirmation. With the others stopped behind her, Rey took the first step, and in a response that could make even the most well trained Jedi’s head spin, the First Order responded. From below the dock one, then two, then a three, and so on until Rey lost count of the platoons flooding out from the darkness took their stand. Each member had their part to play; several placed blaster proof blockades between them and the Resistance, others put themselves behind those blockades with their blasters poised on top and ready, still dozens more stepped from the darkness with handheld cannons at the ready and a daring posture that begged the Resistance to try them. When the General in charge of the attack announced herself, she gave the warning that any action on the part of the Resistance would warrant a quick response and deadly action. The general wanted the Resistance as live prisoners and not dead, but if pushed, she’d have no choice. 

“Finn, after Ben and I make the first move get everyone up on that dock. Poe, Ben, and I will cover you.” Rey’s words fell as she sunk herself into the battle, as she reached towards all the opposing soldiers and sensed their fear. By now, they’d heard who was with the Resistance, and it scared them. Hopefully, that fear would work to the Resistance’s gain. Together Ben and Rey stepped forward, their walk in sync, and minds fusing in much the same way it had when fighting Snoke. For some of the less experienced Stormtroopers, the sight of two people approaching their well-armed counterattack with the intention to fight was met with cocked helmets and a swift yelp from the leader to remain focused. The General gave a second warning, and when Ben and Rey showed no interest in following her commands, the order was given, and the jungle became a bright light. Missed blaster shots hit the ground, the trees, and the brush sending the world into smoke. The barrage of fire kept up, giving Finn the time and cover he needed to guide the people towards the dock unnoticed by the First Order.

Finn feared for Rey, kept his mind centered on her even as he helped the injured towards the stairs and towards freedom. When the stinging noise of blaster shots left the air, Finn turned as did many others to find the smoke clearing and their warriors standing tall, hands out, and what blaster shots were intended for Ben and Rey were now suspended in the air as thousands of red lines. A barrier of hellfire rested between the duo and the First Order, and with a single dropped thought, that barrier retreated to where it came from. Many of the Stormtroopers hid behind their blockades, but for those not lucky enough to find coverage, they fell to the ground. What had been an extensive collection of platoons was now cut to almost nothing, but even those left behind reared into their anger and fought back. Poe’s AT-ST took the next part of the battle as it shot at the remaining soldiers while Ben and Rey advanced.

When Finn saw the first few up to the dock, he ran back down to the jungle, to the back of the line. Shouldering a warrior who’d been shot in the leg, Finn half-carried the man up to the dock and to the awaiting freighter that Connix had broken into and was now preparing for departure. A screech overhead followed by a second and third did nothing to make Finn pause. Instead, he moved faster, carried another solider to the safety of the freighter while the TIEs above began their assault. Glancing once to the sky, Finn caught sight of a single x-wing rushing headlong towards a TIE only to shoot and hit the TIE’s wing. The TIE went spinning for the jungle below, where it exploded.

“Get ‘em Rose,” Finn spoke to the wind and hoped the message made it to the woman above.

“Connix, don’t take off until we have more coverage. Poe and the others should be up here soon.” Finn spoke through his comlink as he took command of the single yacht. Finn feared it wouldn’t be fast enough for him, but finding the luxury vessel to be of a newer model, he settled into the cockpit while more people flooded onto the vessel. Keeping his eyes on the area of the dock he expected Rey and Poe to come from, Finn counted his breaths and waited.

“Finn, we don’t have much time. I think it’s now or never.” Connix called over the comlink, her voice frayed.

“Give them a moment. I need them to take those docked TIEs, so we have more coverage.” Finn leaned forward, his eyes unblinking as he prayed for the others to make their appearance and soon. Poe’s black hair, moussed over by oil and ash, was the first to appear. Poe got the idea quickly and ran for the nearest TIE. Next was Rey and behind her Ben. Finn caught the pained glance between the two, the holding stare as Rey parted for the yacht and Ben for the other TIE.

“What are you guys waiting for, let’s get out of here!” Poe’s voice mingled with the sound of the harness he was quickly strapping himself into. Seconds later, Rey entered the yacht and took the co-pilot’s seat next to Finn. Departure was quick and thankfully uninterrupted while the Resistance fled for the sky.

“Incoming!” Poe’s voice warned of the many TIEs waiting out of atmosphere. The sight of so many swirling TIEs with a single Star Destroyer made Finn’s stomach drop, but it had to be destiny to survive if they made it this far. Poe and Ben’s TIEs took for the enemy and used their disguise to their advantage as they carved a pathway in space for the Resistance to follow.

“You guys look like you need some help.” A calm, familiar voice called and echoed through the yacht. It was Lando. Sounding as if he were about to laugh, Lando apologized for the late arrival. Appearing from the blackness of space was a Hammerhead class cruiser, Lando’s flagship, and a Corvette Starship. Finn watched as the Hammerhead released a barrage of x-wings, all of them racing to the aid of Finn and the others. While space glittered with the streaks of cannon fire and rushing vessels, the yacht and freighter filled with people, rushed for the Hammerhead’s docking bay. Between them and the docking bay, a flurry of three TIEs placed themselves, their attack aggressive with cannon fire as they prepared to barrel straight into the fleeing people.

“We have no way of protecting ourselves,” Finn commented on the yacht’s weak weapon’s system, but the comment must have been heard by a higher power as Ben’s TIE cut through space and screeched the bloodiest scream as it raced towards the trio of TIEs. Coming within meters of the TIEs, Ben set them off course, made them understand that there was someone present in the sky this day that didn’t fear something as menial as death. The TIEs formation changed to one of impenetrability as they raced for Ben. Red fire scratched the black of space, and Ben raced away only to swirl higher than before and end up behind the trio. Ben’s attack was swift with a deadly sharp end.

“He’s a good pilot. I’ll give him that.” Finn commented, but Rey ignored his words, her attention was elsewhere.

Once docked on the Hammerhead, Finn wasted no time and saw to it that the freighter wasn’t far behind. One by one, the x-wings docked in quick succession before Poe’s TIE, and lastly, Ben’s TIE exited space. Watching the ended battle outside, the quickly following enemy TIEs, and then the blur of hyperspace, Finn took his first real breath in what felt like days. There was a beauty that came with survival. A sworn heartbeat that only sang when the body realized its own life, its own intricacy, and existence. For Finn, it was like waking up and all the world around him, all the other survivors became like string, tied to him, and as he kept them alive, so they kept him alive.

“Finn!” Rose’s voice and her beating survival as well, sang in the hangar, causing Finn to only see her.

The oil around Rose’s hands, the windswept hair that stuck out at every angle, was like gold to Finn, outlining the woman in pure light. Arms open, Rose embraced Finn, pulled him close where she felt the heat of the battle still burning. Forehead to forehead, the couple panted out their greeting before their lips met in a soft, gentle kiss.

“Glad to see you’re both alive.” Lando’s deep voice boomed for Rose and Finn. The couple pulled away from each other, the gazes turning deep with soft chagrin.

“Thank you, Lando.” Finn meant every word of it.

“The thanks is all mine, General. As soon as we got the message from BB-8 we-“ Lando’s tone fell, his amused gaze slipped into something more serious as it dotted away from Finn and to someone behind him. Lando’s mouth fell agape, and for a moment, he stopped breathing, as if belief for the man and breathing were the same, and where one was challenged, so was the other. Finn thought he saw a name pierce the older man’s lips, but he wasn’t sure, and either way, the old friend Lando spoke of was gone.

Turning, Finn and Rose found Ben approaching the older man, his head held low, but not so low that he couldn’t maintain eye contact. With each step closer, Lando shook more, remembered more, and so tears began to form. If he’d been asked about the last time he cried, Lando wouldn’t answer, but within himself recall the last time he saw the man standing before him, of course back then Ben was more boy than man. Ben had always been tall, his stature seemingly weighed down by some unseen force, and at the corners of his eyes, an unsettling darkness boomed that collided with the boy’s brimming light. A quiet vexation followed young Ben Solo where ever he went, grew as the boy did, and the last time Lando saw Ben it was when Luke and Ben met him on Bespin for some help tracking down an artifact. Lando hardly recognized Ben, the little boy who laughed when Lando did, despite the reason. No, on Bespin Ben stifled every part of himself and had been doing so for a very long time, so when Lando saw Ben it was like looking at a warzone. Leveled, with promised death scattered everywhere, and the far off cry of battle and agony mixed all together. Lando was present when Ben took his first steps, when he learned to fly, when he wielded a lightsaber for the first time, but all of those moments paled in comparison to Ben as a lost boy who pretended to be found if only to convince his loved ones he was fine.

“He’s grown,” Lando spoke to himself, but the tone left Finn and Rose thinking Lando’s comment had less to do with physicality and more to do with loss and what being found meant. Arms at his side, Lando filled the gap between him and Ben and unable to hold back his smile, the old man laughed to himself before brushing his hands over Ben’s clothes, collecting the dust on his palms, and fingertips as proof Ben was really here. With the calculation that came with losing people too quickly, Lando raised his arms and slowly embraced the man before him, pulling him close so that his tears would fall onto Ben’s clothes. When Ben returned the embrace, Lando laughed before taking his hand and gently beating it against Ben’s back.

“Welcome home, Starfighter.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for putting up with the battle sequence. I know this isn't everyone's favorite thing to read, but I felt it was required it I wanted to tell this story.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lando and Ben have a conversation. Heads up if you haven’t read Katabasis there is a reference to it in this chapter, but it isn’t anything major. Just know that while Ben was ‘dead’ his family made a few requests.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters belong to the mouse.

By the blessing of flurried action involving medical attendants assisting the wounded and mechanics focusing on the numerous damaged vessels, not many took notice of Lando speaking to Ben. The two walked away and put space between themselves and the crowd, standing at the side of the hangar while the world rushed by. Rey coulnd’t hear the men, but could’t help feeling the converstaion through Ben. Fuzzy jolts ran along Ben’s side, where the Rancor had hit him, ignored simmering lacerations from the more fiery parts of the battle vied for Ben’s attention, but beneath it, Ben agonized. Lando’s hand on Ben’s shoulder, the way the older man bowed his gaze into Ben, he was adjuring Ben, insisting on something that Ben quietly disagreed with. Lando shook his head, his face shaping into the eagerness of a guardian bent on protecting what could quickly become fleeting. A hollow call mumbled in the Force as an entreat, a last request, and from the inside out, Ben shook and subdued what Rey perceived as temptation. 

“Do you need attention, Rey?” A medical attendant asked for the second time before catching the Jedi’s consideration. Rey shook her head as she noticed the young woman’s gaze cross the hangar to the sight of the ship’s captain speaking with Ben. 

“If I hadn’t taken an oath to heal…” The attendant scuffed and mumbled something about being thankful there were others in more need of her help than Kylo Ren. When the attendant looked back to Rey, she shuttered before handing over a cloth for the bleeding wound on Rey’s scalp. As the attendant walked away, she glanced over her shoulder at the Jedi, whose eyes were fixed on one of the galaxy’s most accursed murderers.

Lips skewed into a disappointed frown, Lando nodded once to Ben before leaving his side and coming to Rey’s. Gently taking her hand before Rey could reach Ben, Lando glanced from Ben to the Jedi and prayed she was capable of a miracle. Fighting an internal battle of his own, Lando’s voice promised danger and fire, disturbance and scourge, the likes of which Rey had yet to witness.

“You need to get him off this ship.” Lando’s gritted sentence was cloaked in silence as he watched the members of his crew around him.

“It’s only a matter of time before the New Republic realizes he’s alive and comes looking for him. Every planet he’s ever touched will be after him, and whoever gets to him first will have their own way of dealing with Ben.” A rivet in Lando’s voice poured with experience as an eye witness to such equalizing endeavors. Lando had seen the Empire’s fall and everything that came with it, including the capture and execution of high profile targets.

“You’ll both stay in the captain’s quarters. There’s an access hall used by only me that’ll take you to my personal shuttle. Take it and leave when I give you the signal.” Lando’s gaze iced over in fear, in a loss that swore him a sinking heart never to resurface again. 

“Don’t look back. The galaxy isn’t ready for Ben Solo.”

Hand in hand, Rey ignored the rushed stares of Lando’s crew as she and Ben navigated their way from the hangar to the captain’s quarters. From one end of the ship to the next, Rey fought against the course of attention as more and more people heard the news of Kylo Ren. A swell raged down the halls, courted every violent instinct, and promised a swift retribution, and for it all, Rey felt not a single second thought in Ben, just acceptance as an open wound takes on vicious tinctures if only to heal. In the captain’s quarters, Rey couldn’t seal the door behind her fast enough. Filled with a more dialed back taste of Lando, but still bursting forth with a finery the man couldn’t ignore, Rey found the quarters as a welcomed refuge. Dimly light with a war table at the center and plenty of seating for every high ranking official on the ship, the room blossomed out into an adjoining bedroom, and from there, a secret door that would take Rey and Ben to where they needed to go. Biting back the will to rush the door now, Rey heaved a sigh before looking at Ben. Bowed, the man looked little like someone who’d just won a battle and stole a TIE. In the cool of the room, Rey eased from the battle’s hold, shook off the sound of blasters firing too close to her, and reached for Ben’s wilted hand. Taking him by the fingers, Rey waited for him to look to her. Mouth agape for a brief moment as if wanting to speak only to shove the words away, Ben shook his head.

Ben’s taciturn reaction to Lando’s offer churned in his stomach, pulled and pitched itself so that Rey was the only living person to understand why Ben didn’t want to leave. Pulsing to speak, but ignoring the inclination to do so, Rey instead focused on the weight of Ben’s fingers pressed into hers. Those same fingers once held a lightsaber with a broken crystal, once used the Force as a brutal tool of war, but now they just intertwined with the past and rested coldly in Rey’s hand. Squeezing Ben’s hand, Rey let go of him only to wrap her arms around his torso and rest her head against his chest. Cold from head to toe, Ben fought with himself, became a storming ocean, and pushed in unforgiving waves against the desire to accept Rey’s gesture. Holding him tighter, Rey made her will be known; she wasn’t leaving his side. Ben’s response came a muffled tone of perdition in the Force. To stay with him was to consign herself to an unknown future, for better or worse.

Panting against the tears forming in her eyes, Rey dug her fingers into Ben’s clothes.

“We have to leave,” Rey thought of the door, the long hallway to freedom, and the shuttle that would be waiting for them.

A soft knock at the door proved only enough the second time it sounded through the room for Rey to answer it. When the panel slipped open, Rey wasn’t surprised to find Finn and moving to the side, she allowed him into the captain’s quarters. Brow still collected with dirt from the Yavin 4 battle, Finn missed Ben by a single moment as the man slipped into Lando’s bedroom. Hands on his hips, lips pressed tightly together, Finn waited at the closed door for Rey to speak first. Finn knew very well his friend could feel his questions, could count every leaning he had, and so he waited for Rey. Her back against a wall, Rey steadied herself while her mind mixed with Ben’s deadly revelation and Finn’s desire to understand. There was one moment that stood out to Rey, a single vestige of the past that clouded her memories for a moment before dissolving into words. A night on one of Lothal’s moons put Rey and Finn on a course of action that took them to a stock of new weapons and a long ride home as they bisected through different routes to avoid the First Order. Rumors of seeing Kylo Ren’s flagship nearby flooded the moon’s communication system. Finn and Rey worked faster to collect the weapons they’d come for, and when the call came that it was a false alarm, relief flooded Finn, but for Rey, only a desolate torn gaze followed the news. It was then Finn suspected for the first time something he wasn’t even sure could be true. He watched his friend for the rest of the night, took in the Jedi’s form as she wedged herself ever further between a substance that both kept her alive and closer to death than she’d ever been and silence. Rey lost herself to a forest that walked with her, that she couldn’t escape because it matched her every move. The night took a turn for the taboo when Finn dared to ask a question that went unanswered.

“Do you think if Han had survived, would he be able to forgive Kylo Ren?” Rey froze at the question, pretended she didn’t hear it, and when Finn and her left the moon, she hurried to the hold after she was no longer needed in the cockpit.

It was in Finn’s tone, the soft appearance of wonder as this warrior pondered forgiveness and its value. Loneliness scathed through Rey’s body, shook her to the bones, and then a leaflet of hope announced itself to her, came in the form of her best friend understanding her, but the edge of hope was too slim and breakable. When Rey grabbed hold and considered marching back to the cockpit to tell Finn everything, the hope snapped in two, and she fell even further into solitude; truth outweighed hope that night. It didn’t matter who Rey told, Kylo Ren was still Kylo Ren and had refused to come with her. 

“There was a night I almost told you about Ben. When we were stealing weapons from that abandoned depot. I almost told you about him.” Rey frowned and looked to the ground.

“What kept me from telling you wasn’t the thought you’d look at me any different. Like right now, I know you’re upset with me, and I know it’ll pass. I know you’re still my friend.” Rey hoped she was right.

“I never told you about him because while you and I witnessed the same thing on Starkiller Base, I saw more of him after that. I saw parts of him that hadn’t seen the light of day in years. I saw Ben. The way you said his name, Kylo Ren…” Rey shook her head, knocking the repeated voice from her memory.

“I knew if I told you I’d just end up more alone than before and I was already so alone, it was nearly unbearable. I needed you so that I didn’t fully lose myself.” A past submission lingered it the air, but it was too late. Finn carried the understanding he had and placed it against the battles he’d seen, ones where Kylo Ren showed zero mercy. 

“Rey, he isn’t one of us.” Finn began.

“The New Republic knows he’s alive and once we get to the Birren’s base he’ll be handed over to their government. I think you’re aware of what will happen next.” There was something else lingering on Finn’s tongue, something he wasn’t saying. Those words lost to Finn’s mouth grew in definition as he watched his friend curl into herself, wrap her arms around her body, and stare towards the room Ben was in. Close, so close to speaking more, Finn forced himself a final bit of news before exiting the room.

“The Hutts aren’t too happy. I guess we’ll be hearing from them again, and when we do, it would be nice to have a Jedi with us.” The door slid open, and Finn left.

In the bedroom, Ben kept his gaze from the hidden door, the one behind a selection of old maps. Freedom was so close, but healing was even closer. Neither path was easy, one would take Ben on an excursion of hides and never homes, and the other would place him front and center of a massive group who wanted nothing more than to see him die. Questions of life and death and what it all would mean for Rey, flooded Ben’s mind. The dyad’s hold on life was tested once when Ben walked out of Death’s arms and into Rey’s, but could that be done a second time? Was the reason for his ‘second chance’ only given so that he could be punished? Ben remembered the words shared with him when he was in the place beyond the galaxy, the same place so far and so close. Ben heard the words of his father, great-grand mother, uncle, and grandfather replay in his head. His life was intended for more than suffering. He was to free the slaves, not allow a single child of Alderaan to become lost to the galaxy, uphold the life dept, reestablish what he once destroyed, and give Rey the life she deserved. Between all those promises, Ben reminded himself there was no time for death.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey, Ben, and Lando prepare for the inevitable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters are not mine and belong to the mouse.

Rey’s eyes locked on the hidden door in Lando’s room. The room suddenly felt too cold, too imposing as if the wall were made of eyes, and they were all trained on her and Ben. Confusion followed Rey’s every thought, and just below it was a swelling urge to run. Ben’s bowed form, his shaking hands grasping onto one another, and parted lips were enough to fill Rey’s thoughts with the actions of Kylo Ren. Swallowing a deep breath, Rey prepared to speak until she was blue in the face until Ben relented and looked to her. If she could just get him to look her in the eyes, then she’d have a chance to convince him to leave.

“I never,” Rey stopped, considered what she was about to reveal, and decided she needed more than just air to get her through.

“There’s a weight on me, Ben. It’s been there my entire life. At first, I thought it was a result of my parents leaving. Later, I thought it was the Force, but it wasn’t, not entirely. It was you. Even before I met you, you were this weight in my life. Not wholly mine, although the feeling exists in me, so I thought it should be. I met you, I fought you, I escaped you, and every time that weight just got heavier. When we went after Snoke, it was the first time that weight lessened.” Ben didn’t outwardly react to Rey’s words, but inside, his mind fluttered to his most painful memories with Rey as the only reliever.

“On Exegol, when we were side by side, the weight was gone, and then you died and,” Rey didn’t finish before Ben came to his feet in one swift movement and with hands warmed by her words Ben took Rey’s face. A rummaging pair of eyes listed close to Rey’s thoughts and with her permission intertwined with her memory. Agony crossed the man’s features as if he were cut with a lightsaber from forehead to chest again, but Ben never shirked from Rey’s mind. A crushing weight collapsed through Ben, pressed into his body until he felt like he could no longer breathe. The gift of life became as acid on Rey’s soul, and while she dared to endure, it was with greatest affliction she lived with Ben’s name on her lips and sewed into her being. Her heart beat, but the never return of his was a deafening echo.

Unblinking, Rey smoothed out the infinite details of a life separate from Ben’s, the aches of a restless body, haunting memories and recalls of all the ‘what ifs,’ Rey poured it out for Ben to feel and understand. He could not die again. It was out of the question. When the dregs of Rey’s memory were met, Ben broke his gaze from Rey, stepped back with her hands in his. Turning his palms up, Ben rest the weight of his hands in Rey’s. The struggle lines where Kylo Ren had cradled his lightsaber were still present, as were the many lives lost to its wield. With a precision that only Rey commanded, she traced the inside of Ben’s palms, demanding the galaxy to extend this man in both life and fortitude, in nights spent with her, and a stir only possible for those who’d seen death and come back. Wrapping her arms around Ben, Rey pressed her lips against his ear. 

“Don’t make me come after you again, Ben Solo.”

It took Lando a quick exchange with his second in command to mandate that his private shuttle be prepared for departure without an escort. When questioned about his destination, Lando pretended not to hear and walked away for his quarters. Time was fading quickly, soon Lando’s ship would be on Birren, and from there it would be an unknown amount of time before the New Republic members came looking for Ben. With his favorite cane in hand, Lando navigated his ship with each step resounding out an echo of the past. The ship reminded Lando too much of the Headquarters Frigate, of the time right before the Battle of Endor. Han, Leia, and Luke were all so young then, full of life, and a knowledge brimming with potential. Life flashed before Lando’s eyes. He saw himself travel from one system to the next with the greatest of those travels taking place with Han by his side and Chewie not far behind. When Ben came along, the journeys changed and, if possible, felt fuller than before. A grim voyage to the Outer Rim on behalf of the New Republic to deliver supplies felt brand new to Lando as he experienced it through Ben’s eyes. Questions for days, the young boy felt little fear towards the possible danger; instead, all he saw was possibility. Young Ben welcomed the galaxy with open arms and hope, with endurance and a heart big enough to take on all its pains. Nothing was too small or impossible, not where Ben was concerned. Lando didn’t think much of it when Ben would wake up in the middle of the night, scurry from the cabin to the main hold where his father was, and climb into Han’s lap with the words of something scary in his nightmares. Those nightmares never went away, at least not to Lando’s recollection. Watching Ben now was an agonizing task, like watching someone tortured. Ben’s gangly canter was long gone and replaced with a worn warrior’s mighty steps. The boyish smile seemed smeared away and in its place a jagged pair of lips that had ordered far too many deaths and admitted one too many words of self-disdain. So much of Leia and Han existed in Ben, and every time Lando looked to Ben, it broke him to know that those connatural halves of Ben were made like weapons to press into Ben’s soul and force Ben to be something unnatural.

In the Captain’s quarters, Lando found Rey and Ben sitting in his room, on the edge of the bed with each other’s hand tightly grasping each other.

 _Rey, she was the key. The beacon guiding Ben home and keeping him steady as he navigated through darkest waters_ , Lando thought. 

“The shuttle will be ready shortly,” Lando ignored the air in the room. A hesitation stifled the room and made it hard to breathe. The older man pressed a hidden button on the wall and revealed the door that would take Ben and Rey to the shuttle, but neither moved, neither glanced to the door. A thread of fear struck Lando’s chest. If he’d been quicker, if he’d spent more time convincing Ben, then maybe this wouldn’t be happening. Looking to Ben, Lando witnessed the collision of dark and light, of the stuff Luke used to speak of regularly. It was plain as day in Ben, and for the first time, Lando saw it.

“What did _he_ do to you?” Lando asked the air. Stepping closer, Lando waited for Ben’s gaze to find his.

“You must understand, Ben, they won’t go easy on you. They will have you for everything they can think of. Please tell me you understand.” Lando pleaded with a glance over his shoulder to the open door and the secret passage. Rey’s grip tightened on Ben’s hand, as much as Lando was pleading with Ben, she was praying inside and out. Standing up, Ben offered a broken smile before nodding his head. At first, Lando wasn’t going to embrace Ben, he didn’t want to make it seem as if this would be the last time they’d see each other, but that will fell to the side and Lando wrapped his arms around Ben.

“You listen, I’m going to fight for you. I’m going to wrestle every part of this galaxy until I find a way to help you. They may punish you, but they will not take your life.” Lando tightened his embrace and smiled when he felt Ben do the same.

A window in the Captain’s quarters gave Rey a view of the planet below her, of Birren. Groves of rolling temperate forests gave way to orchards and biomes, to small villages and even a city. The world below appeared balanced between nature and society as its rivers crossed into populated areas and left unpolluted. From above, a great mist gathered over reflective waters leaving Rey to wonder if she’d see a waterfall, but one thing was for sure; Birren was beautiful. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben are brought before the Queen of Birren only to find it's someone from Ben's past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own these characters, the mouse does.

With Lando’s vessel docked and a flood of Resistance fighters rushing towards the beacon of homecoming, Poe, Finn, and Rose disembarked with the crowds. As the many wounded, now bandaged, but still in need of further care, were carried from the ship, a looming figure made dejected by Birren’s brilliant light eased through the crowd. Like a drop of deadly poison in blood, Ben Solo’s presence was immediately detected by the fighters. Conversation quieted, heads turned as more became curious about the sudden change in atmosphere. Those once bent over checking machinery or on the ill, straightened their backs, and several fighters rested a shaking hand on their holstered blasters. All was still, save for Rey, Ben, and Lando. Lando’s hand tightly gripped Ben, afraid that if he let go, the boy would disappear again. At Ben’s other side, Rey walked with an arm encircled with Ben’s. There was nothing in the galaxy that was going to take her from his side.

Piercing the crowds, the golden, stiff walking form of C-3PO navigated through the people before stopping in front of Lando.

“Captain Calrissian, the royal guard of Queen-“

“I’m aware,” Lando answered the droid before he could continue. For the first time, C-3PO’s attention withdrew from Captain Calrissian and focused on the man standing next to him. The droid stepped back, swiveled his head from Rey, to Ben, to Lando, back to Ben. The droid, usually so full of answers, was now caught having not a single one as he stood before the full-grown figure of Ben Solo.

“Master Ben.” C-3PO managed, but somehow the address held more questions than understanding, after all the droid had seen ghosts before. What felt like a tonnage of fried wires and melted parts left C-3PO able to put together a lone sentence, something he grasped from a time when Princess Leia was still alive.

“Your mother and father have been looking for you for a very long time, Master Solo.”

“There he is!” An authoritative voice rang from across the base. Guards dressed in flowing garb with the insignia of Alderaan on one shoulder and Arkanis on the other rushed towards Ben Solo. Their electrified lancets pointed and ready, the guards wasted no time reaching Ben. With more than two dozen guards standing before them, Rey sensed not a single one was here to harm Ben unless he be the one to make the first move. Stepping from the back of the group, was a middle-aged man dressed in a grayish-blue uniform similar to what the others had on, but slightly different in style to signify a higher rank. Eyes like a bird of prey, the man held an unblinking focus on Ben as a stifling smile grew across his face. This man had witnessed Kylo Ren fight before and knew what he was capable of, but somehow all that had changed and the war won military men sensed that Kylo Ren was no longer a threat to him. Instead of being thankful such a fearsome tool was now dulled, he was filled with malicious glee.

“By Order of Birren’s only Queen, you, Kylo Ren, are to be brought before her highness and made subject to the Galactic Law of the New Republic.” The man smiled and signaled for one of his guards to step forward, thick cuffs at the ready.

“Should you resist, it will mean death.” The man so wished for Kylo Ren to resist. For the first time, the man frowned at Ben when he offered his wrists and allowed the cuffs to be placed around them. At his shoulder, Ben felt Lando squeeze once before letting go.

“Where are you taking him?” Lando questioned.

“To the fortress.” A surly answer left Lando ready to pull his own weapon.

“He’s has a right to representation.” Lando reminded the higher ranking guard who didn’t care to debate the rights of criminals.

“Listen, Captain, my only job is to bring him in. What happens from there is up to the Queen.” Lando let it go, knowing Rey wouldn’t let harm befall Ben in the time it took for him to find the answers he was looking for.

“Rey,” Lando spoke to the Jedi while she kept her frightening gaze on the men before her.

“Ben has a right to representation. See to it he gets someone, and I’ll be by soon enough.” Lando’s only indication from Rey that she was listening was a slight nod of her head.

“Alright, Jedi, you’ll have to let go-“ A reckless guard, either not raised with the understanding of how powerful Jedi are or unbelieving of such strength, reached for Rey’s upper arm. Rey growled a warning before stepping closer to Ben, making it blatantly clear of her stance. In unison, the guards stepped forward, their weapons drawn and ready to separate Rey from Ben. Finally, having enough at the sight of unwelcomed guards on his base, Poe raced through the crowd with Finn on his heels.

“Wow, wow,” Poe held out his hands for the guards to step back.

“I’m General Dameron, this is my base, and according to the agreement signed by your Queen, this is sovereign land until the war is over and last I checked it isn’t. I can’t have you come here and push around my people.” Poe knew Rey was far from being pushed around, but he needed to give Rey time to understand there was no way she was going with Ben. 

“She can’t come with us.” The man answered with a promise to his voice. Poe attempted to catch Rey’s attention, but her gaze was fixated on the enemy in front of her. Rey looked all too much as a pile of loose explosives with one wrong spark causing her to consume everyone around her in a swallowing cloud of unforgiving fire.

“Come on, Rey, you have to stay here with us.” Poe’s voice still held remnants of the battle, of being kept in a cell for longer than he cared to think of.

“Rey?” Poe asked, and when it dawned on him, there was no moving her, he looked to Finn for help. Finn nodded, already the man was at Rey’s side prepared to fight should one soldier make the wrong move, but now he’d have to do an even more trying task.

“Rey, I know this isn’t what you want, but you can’t go with him. You have to stay.” With a snap of her head, Rey locked her fevered gaze on Finn.

“If it were Rose, would you leave?” She didn’t wait for an answer before baring her teeth and turning back to the guards. In finality, Finn huffed and shook his head at Poe. Rey wasn’t budging. 

“Make yourself useful, _Ben,_ and tell her to stay.” Finn noticed his voice carried an unnatural grit when he spoke to Ben, and he didn’t know if he liked that or if he was frightened by it. Ben neither looked to Finn nor answered him. 

“I suggest you allow her to go with you because I got to tell you I’ve seen her fight and if she can knock Kylo Ren’s ass to the ground I don’t think you want to know what she can do to you.” It was all Poe had left before things got dirty, and it seemed to work as the high guard’s brow fell, and he thought for a moment before answering.

“You’ll need to be in cuffs. Any friend of Kylo Ren is no friend of the Queen.” Upon the answer, Rey pulled the lightsaber from her side and handed it to Finn. Rey’s blaster and the couple of knives she had hidden in her clothes were also handed over before she stuck out her wrists and allowed cuffs to be placed there. Heavy on her skin, Rey let her wrists fall in front of her under the weight of the clasp holding her arms nearly useless. Rey didn’t look back to the others as she, along with Ben, were escorted from the base.

Just beyond the base, Rey got a full view of just how seriously the Queen took this whole endeavor. A full patch of grassland glistening with a recent rain was packed full with guard carriers. By the dozens, guards stood in wait with their weapons ready and above, royal grade ships hovered in wait. On the open back of a guard carrier, Rey and Ben were chained from the cuffs to a hook impeded in the transport’s flooring. Sitting side by side, the two remained silent as guards kept their weapons trained on Ben. From above, a second rain passed over the sight, littering those below in droplets. The grasslands soon appeared as an ocean of green when the wind picked up and brushed over the land in waves. The sky and its mist swallowed the vessels, making it appear as if there was nothing but grey forever. Off in the distance, Rey swore she saw the glimmer of living silver, but it was blocked by the oncoming forest and its mighty trees reaching far into the mist. Sweet sap became the only smell Rey was aware of as the earth below lost its verdant depth and molded with the fallen gold-brown of the tree’s sheddings.

The fortress stood out among the forest, burst over the earth as clay land gave way to stone. Not as high as the trees, but daring to get there one day, the fortress made up for its comparable shortness by expanding across the land in an architectural maze of arches, towers, and balconies. From where Rey sat, she could make out what she would describe as a massive courtyard complete with several multi-tiered fountains, gardens, and statues. Stained glass windows displayed a woman sitting on a thrown with a sterling band around her forehead, and at her feet, a people bowed in adoration. With gathering speed, the guards approached the fortress as a door large enough to welcome the Falcon lowered into the ground. Once beyond the threshold, Rey’s stomach churned in warning. If the outside of this place looked like honey, the inside was pure venom.

Guards posted at every conceivable place worth standing kept their deadly attention on the two who’d just arrived. Security droids, as well, kept up a march that dared anyone to make a wrong move. While the fortress’ vestibule was expansive enough to act as a dock for several vessels, it was flooded with whispers of freedom only to be squashed by the feet of so many guards and by that act alone the fortress lost its attempt at vastness. Rey soon realized that what she was looking at was vanity. Everywhere was the vain attempt at protection, and security now soured to selfishness and overpowering greed. At the entrance to one of the towers, the transport stopped. The guards unlocked the chain from the ground but kept it attached to the cuffs and used it to pull Rey and Ben off the transport as if they were wild beasts, brought in to be gazed upon by the masses.

On the ground, more guards came forward, creating line after line of protection as a hooded figure with a silver hoop encircling her head stepped forward. With her entourage of staff and advisers, the Queen ignored the command of her high guard, who warned her to keep a safe distance. When the Queen was a couple of meters away, Ben and Rey felt a sharp hit to the backs of their legs as they were forced to kneel. The Queen stopped, revealed two silver gloved hands from inside her cloak, and gently pulled back the hood. Rey had no reason to recognize the woman before her, but she felt in Ben a pained understanding. The Queen held nothing for Rey and instead kept a sharp, serrated gaze on the bowed man before her. A grin fit for Snoke himself stretched over the beautiful woman’s face as her brown eyes flowed with a darkness not attached to the Force, but still capable of wrenched things.

“I’m Queen Carise Sindian of Birren, the only recognized perpetuate of both Alderaan and Arkanis, and you are Kylo Ren.” The Queen’s smile faded into tiny bites of poison before she spit in Ben’s face and ordered that he and the Jedi with him be taken to the royal prison.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lando looks for something he feels will help Ben.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own the characters, they belong to the mouse.

Lando rummaged through the Falcon in haste and dissatisfaction as he realized the likelihood of finding what he was looking for was slim. The older man had enlisted Chewie’s help, but as the Wookiee made clear what they were looking for was probably long gone.

“Has so much time really passed?” Lando remarked as he flipped over the cushions around the table in the main hold of the Falcon. Counting to himself, Lando stopped when he reached the number eight.

“Almost a decade.” Lando whistled at the idea of so many years spent in the First Order.

“What are you looking for?” Lando expected the young general to follow him on board, given how fast Lando moved from the crowd once Ben and Rey were taken. It was easy to tell for anyone who was paying attention that Lando had an idea, and it was a good one.

“I’m looking for a transmission Leia sent me some years ago. It's on a datastick.” Lando remembered the day he received the coded message from Leia in the form of datastick, transported to him from Hosnian Prime. At the time, Lando was on Coruscant, visiting an arms dealer who wanted to make a sale to Lando. Lando ended up having to cancel the meeting when he heard the message was marked as urgent. 

“What kind of transmission?” Finn asked, and by now he was joined by Rose and Poe.

“Will it help Rey?” Finn asked. The man needed something to do, something to take off the slim edge keeping him from marching into the fortress, agreement, or no agreement. Lately, this had become a constant subject between Finn and Poe. As Poe tried to mold Finn into an exceptional general his teachings involved helping Finn decipher when and where the proper time to attack was. In the middle of a crowded base wasn’t the time to fight, but later was a much different story.

“It will help Ben, which will help Rey.” There was no response from Finn or Poe.

“Lando, where haven’t you checked?” Rose asked. Lando nodded towards the galley. Rose left, but before she did, she gave Finn a look of willful appeal.

“Captain Calrissian!” C-3PO, along with a chirping R2-D2, joined the crowded main hold.

“Hey C-3PO! Have you seen a datastick around here? It was marked as urgent. It’s been a while since I’ve had it.” In fact, Lando couldn’t recall the last time he saw the datastick, just that the moment he finished watching the message Lando boarded his vessel, joined Han, and together they bore themselves so deeply into the galaxy the idea of never returning home became a constant thought.

“I’m afraid I haven’t. Captain Calrissian, if that truly is Master Ben I’m afraid to inform you, but his odds of surviving Queen Sinidian’s sentence is three thousand seven hundred and twenty to one! The Queen has a very long history of sentencing First Order operatives to death!” The droid’s arms wiggled with every word, but none of it Lando noticed as he tore through the main hold 

“Yeah, by the way, who is this Queen Carise Sindian? I thought she was on our side?” Finn asked, hands on his hips. At the question, Poe huffed and ran a hand through his hair.

“She’s one nasty politician, that’s who she is. I was only able to get her to sign over this land for the base on the condition that any high ranking First Order officers be handed over to her at once. She’s also got a history with General Leia.” The end of Poe’s sentence came with venom.

“What kind of history?” Rose asked when she arrived from the galley empty-handed.

“The kind that almost got General Leia killed. Carise told the galaxy who Leia’s biological father was; before that, no one knew except Luke and Han. I don’t even know if Chewie knew.” Chewie didn’t volunteer any information in response to Poe’s answer, and the general expected none as the Wookiee had a habit of protecting the Princess at all costs.

“Ben never knew who his grandfather was?” Rose asked, her brow tight and uncertain.

“I don’t believe so, but he found out later. Obviously.” In silence, Rose and Finn dove over the new information, putting it together and still not fully understanding where Snoke came in, where Rey did, and how that got Ben and Rey to the place they were now.

“It’s more than that.” Lando huffed and slowed his rushed search as he took a seat at the table.

“Carise worked with the First Order. She was a Centrist and had a clandestine involvement with the development of the First Order. The reason she wants every First Order officer you capture is because she wants to silence them. The tides have changed, and she wants to be on the winning side. If she kills Ben, if she’s the one responsible for ending Kylo Ren’s life, it’ll promise her a high spot in the New Republic despite her previous relationship with the First Order.” A tired groan left Lando’s lips, he rubbed his temples and tried in vain to remember where the datastick was. At Lando’s side, R2-D2 bumped him gently before chirping away with words Lando thought he’d never hear.

“You have a copy, Artoo?” Lando smiled for the first time.

“He says, he believes he has a copy.” C-3PO corrected, but already R2-D2 was delving into his memory, stirring up what he thought he’d never use again.

“It would have been a day or so after Luke’s temple was destroyed.” Lando jogged the droid’s memory, who answered back with the blue form of a miniature Leia. A serene quiet touched the main hold. For Poe, this was the first time he’d seen the General since she’d passed away. A tight sting in Poe’s eyes made the man pinch his gaze closed for a moment. Princess Leia was outfitted in a blue dress with a flow only seen over pristine oceans. A bit younger in the hologram, Leia balanced a gaze that sweltered between shrieking fear and a determination only a princess without a planet was capable of. Lips held tightly together, the woman’s dark eyes appeared more as Ben’s than ever before as if mother and son were sharing a threaded pain in unison that reflected in them both. Bereaved, the mother appeared lost, and in severest pain, it was something Finn, Rose, and even Poe had never seen before.

“Lando,” Leia’s shuddering first word came with the belief the ground below her was going to open up and swallow her whole.

“I need your help.” There is was, a tear from Leia’s eye. Lando remembered that part most of all, but even all these years later, it was just as heart-wrenching. 

“Ben is lost to me. I don’t know where he is or where Luke is, but I feel them both. I know they’re both alive but separated. I’ve gotten word that something happened at Luke’s temple, something bad. The temple was attacked, burned to the ground.” Leia inhaled sharply, her chest visibly collapsing in on itself as she forced the next words from her mouth in sobs. 

“I don’t know where my son is, Lando. I don’t know who he’s with, but I know he’s not safe. I know he’s scared and angry and hurt. I can feel it. There is a possibility that Ben is not himself. That he’s _dangerous_.” The last word hurt most of all as Lando reminded himself this wasn’t Leia’s first attempt at sending this message. It took a few tries before she could put words to her fears. At Lando’s side, he heard Chewie whine and drop his head.

“Han and I need your help finding him before anything else happens. Of those who died at Luke’s temple, there are a few relatives of the students who have already placed a bounty on Ben’s head. There is a warrant for his capture. If they get to him before any of us do, it is paramount Ben know the Elder’s Pathos.”

“That’s it!” Lando sounded with excitement.

“The Elder’s Pathos,” Lando repeated before listening to the rest of the message.

“I have to go. Han will be on his way. We won’t stop looking for him. It doesn’t matter what he’s done. We’re bringing Ben home.” The hologram evaporated, Leia left, and the main hold was stilled once more.

“The Elder’s Pathos,” Lando repeated, having no idea what that was, but knowing it was all he needed to help Ben.

“Why! The Elder’s Pathos!” C-3PO called out, his gold body shifting back and forth in glee.

“Brilliant move on Princess Leia’s part! That will most certainly save Ben, as long as he can pass the trails that is.” C-3PO continued.

“What exactly is it?” Lando asked, already getting up from the table.

“The Elder’s Pathos is an ancient Alderaanian tradition going back hundreds of years! It’s available to any child of Alderaan and galactically recognized on nearly every planet, including Birren. Utilized during times of war to restore lost or criminally responsible citizens of Alderaan, it’s a kind of sanctuary. All one has to do is claim the Elder’s Pathos and a responsible, high ranking member of Alderaan, usually, the Queen, gives the criminal a collection of tasks that must be performed in order to be in good standing with the monarch. I suppose the only problem is…” C-3PO trailed off, unsure if anyone wanted to hear the rest of it.

“What?” Lando asked.

“Well, currently Queen Carise is the only recognized monarch of Alderaan, so it would be up to her to decide what tasks are placed against Master Ben and as General Dameron has already pointed out, Queen Carise’s relationship with Princess Leia might interfere with a fair trial.” 


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben receives help from Lando and an unknown woman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These are not my characters they belong to the mouse.

Rey envisioned stones in her knees to keep her from leaping at Queen Carise, however, try as the Jedi could the gaze of thorns she carried could not be lost. Queen Carise took no notice of the girl, and once the Queen finished speaking to Ben, she walked away. With a flick of her hand, the Queen’s guards collected Ben and Rey and dragged them from the central tower. The space between the central tower and outer curtain wall stretched into a protected courtyard, the same one with fountains and statues, but none of this was for the prisoners. As Rey and Ben found out soon, their location was one deep beneath the fortress. At a dwarf tower, Ben and Rey were pushed beyond the threshold only to be dragged down a twisting staircase. Dank air filled the prisoner’s lung, murmurs of creaking wood, guards gossiping, and a distinct buzz sounded through the stone hallways.

The guard at Ben’s right arm had the idea of separating him from Rey, but he reconsidered when Ben twisted his silent gaze into him. At a hole in a wall left open, Ben first then Rey were shoved into the cell with the closing of a reinforced electrified gate smacking behind them. Echoes of laughter left with the guards as talk of a firing squad seemed to be the new topic of discussion. The greasy darkness Ben and Rey were left to crawled from the back of the cell and made Ben appear like a lost mountain set against an ebony sea. Rey knew better. Ben wasn’t lost even if he felt like it at this moment. Even in pure darkness, the duo captured each other’s gaze, and in a flash, the cuffs grasping their wrists were gone.

“Who is she?” Rey’s whisper was intended for Ben alone. The man remained quiet with his fingertips outstretched and wavering over the invisible force field masked over the jagged gate. Heat rose to meet the man’s fingers, daring him to make another move.

“She knew my mother.” Ben wiped his hand on his clothing as he walked further into the darkness and took a place against the wall leaving Rey with the tiny bed made for an Ugnaught if she chose. In blurry memories, Ben recalled that time in his life when inclinations not his own rushed at him as enemies swearing themselves to be console. His mother, father, and uncle all wanted something different from Ben. They all wanted him to be happy, but seeing him as a lost young man, their wishes for Ben’s joy came in various forms. Han never said it, but it was in his mind his son could be happy if he’d just been born without the immense power the Force offered him. Leia believed Ben could wield the Skywalker bloodline as justly as Luke did, even when she witnessed his outbursts. Luke, patient as he was, compassionate as he was, did in those last months Ben was with him begin to stray from his nephew’s side. Not out of punishment or fear, Luke gave Ben what he thought he needed; space.

Space was all it took for Snoke to make his final move and cut the trembling thread keeping Ben attached to his family. The memory of Luke’s temple burning to the ground mixed with the communications Leia sent Ben. She’d mentioned Lady Carise and her desire to inherit a title intended to pass to Ben. Leia was right when she’d passed on the offer and allowed Lady Carise to have the title. The only thing Leia didn’t understand was the truth; Ben wanted nothing to do with titles or power, he wanted nothing to do with Alderaan or any other planet for that matter, he wanted to be free of the bubbling anger inside him.

“Carise is the one who told the galaxy my mother was the daughter of Vader.” Rey refused the bed and instead took her place next to Ben and next to his shadow that swallowed her whole. In the prison’s gloom, Rey caught the glint of white in Ben’s eyes as he looked to her in sincerest warning and offer.

“She intends to kill me. It’ll be a game to her, but in the end, she wants me dead.” A power rested in Ben’s hand, and if Rey just gave him a hint of want, he’d open up the cell’s door, and she’d be free to go. Rey encircled her arm with Ben’s and rested her head against him. Ben already knew the answer Rey would give, but he had to try. 

“I can open up my own doors, Ben.”

Ben knew that too. 

A mordant thought scratched Rey’s mind when she recalled meeting Ben after he’d been released from death; death could not hold Ben Solo, so what makes a fake Queen think she can? In the middle of the desert, the two reunited, and by that miracle alone, it made Rey feel invincible at the time. Rey searched for those same feelings, but in the cell’s darkness, it was like attempting to find a single bit of credit in a vast ocean. Closing her eyes, Rey gave into meditation. 

“You never told me what it was like for you when you died.” More rumble then words, Rey like the way Ben’s question buzzed in her ear from his chest. Clear of mind, Rey saw swaying whispers of midnight courting blue, a blanket of stars serenading the life below, and space forever and ever.

“It wasn’t so much what I saw, but what I felt. Like if I’d been left to dreaming my entire existence, I’d eventually arrive at this place. I felt small, but larger than life, like everything I’d been through and seen was a single instance, and the rest of forever was where I was.” Speaking of it washed Rey in a calm surrender.

“In this place, even when I thought I’d never return to you, I knew if I just turned around, you’d be there. Where ever I was, there was no time or separation.” Burying her face in the fabric of Ben’s clothing, Rey could smell hints of the Falcon.

“Where do you want to go after this?” Ben asked, and he felt Rey smile into his arm.

“Somewhere green,” The woman murmured with thoughts of Takodana racing through her mind.

“Somewhere green, it is.” Ben’s response came with belief. Whatever happened here, he’d have to survive. There was no choice. 

In a way, only an ex-scoundrel could, Lando managed to sweep past the entrance of the fortress with no more than some cunning words and a smile. With his ‘entourage’ in the form of Poe, Finn, and Rose bringing up the rear, Chewie and BB-8 were left outside the outer curtain wall. There was no reason to push their luck with these people, as Lando had said. His best cape flowing behind him, Lando appeared regal, appeared as some constituent of the Queen’s, and therefore no one questioned him as he and the three that followed him crossed the courtyard. 

“There’s the tower C-3PO said we’d find them in,” Rose whispered behind Lando, and the man answered by gracefully turning his gate toward the nearly hidden tower.

“They’re not playing around,” Finn commented on the many guards standing outside of the tower.

“State your business.” A guard requested when she realized the well-dressed man intended to pass by the obvious post. Lando tossed a disbelieving look to the guard before rolling his head to look back at his entourage. More guards stepped forward, prepared to act should the business Lando spoke of not be enough.

“I’m Ben Solo’s representation. According to-“ The guard interrupted Lando with jagged words and threats.

“You have no business here. First Order leadership have no rights.”

Lando stepped back, smiled, raised his arms with his cape spread out like wings, and in one quick movement dropped a smoke grenade, nothing poisonous, but enough to confuse the guards. Dashing beyond the guards, Lando entered the tower quickly filling with smoke from the outside. Already shouts of combat met Lando’s urge to get to Ben.

“Thank the Force for C-3PO,” Lando whispered to himself as he chose the descending staircase. Tossing another smoke grenade down the passage as more guard rushed upward, Lando darted by them with little trouble. At the end of the stairs, Lando felt a massive hand grab his upper arm and pull him back into the grey smoke.

“Ben!” The man yelled out and wriggled free with a move Han had taught him.

“BEN!”

In the cell at the end of the chamber, Ben rose suddenly from the ground.

“Did you hear that?” He asked Rey who hadn’t heard the call the first time, but upon the second yell had.

“BEN!”

“It’s Lando!” Rey rushed the gate prepared to open it, but paused when she picked up on the same inclination Ben was.

“He’s trying to deliver a message.” She whispered and pressed her ear as close as she dared to the force field.

“Pathos of the Elders, Ben!” Lando’s trying yell was cut short. Rey and Ben exchanged looks.

“Pathos of the Elders?” Rey mouthed.

“Call…Pathos of the Elders!” And then the hall went silent as Lando was dragged back upstairs with a fragile hope that Ben and Rey had heard him.

“What’s the Pathos of the Elders?” Rey asked, but Ben had no answer. He’d never heard of it before.

“Whatever it is, Lando thought it was important enough to race the guards upstairs.”

Although Ben and Rey didn’t know it evening rested over the fortress. Resting on the cell’s floor next to one another, Rey dozed in and out of sleep while Ben kept his attention on the unseen stairs. There was a brewing urge in Ben’s mind, preventing him from thinking of much else. When a gentle tap of light feet on the prison flood, Ben glanced towards the darkened hallway from where he lay. At first, he’d expected a guard, but as the presence he felt grew more in the Force, a clamoring in his heart spoke of remembrance. When the form stopped in front of Ben’s cell, the man inside swore it was his mother. Short with what he could tell in the darkness to be rings of hair looping over the woman’s head, and all around her a flowing attire. Ben was about to let the word ‘mom’ pierce his lips, but paused as the woman spoke first.

“Are you awake?” A soft voice, but definitely not Leia’s broke the ink laden silence.

“I am.” Ben’s voice sounded rougher than what he intended. Slowly, Ben squirmed from beneath Rey’s head and rested the sleeping woman gently against the ground. Pulling the only worn blanket the two had over Rey, Ben got to his feet and faced the newcomer at the gate.

“I’m your representation.” The woman called for some light down the hallway, and immediately the hallway outside the cell flickered with light. Warm eyes met Ben, sepia-colored and encircled with many wrinkles. The woman stood with grandeur, the kind Ben knew from his youth when Leia visited old friends she knew from Alderaan. When the old woman smiled at Ben, it struck him as weary in ways to make an aging galaxy appear young. Caught in some memory, the old woman dropped her smile and spoke.

“Lando caused a great deal of drama attempting to get to you, and lucky for him Queen Carise won’t be punishing him or your other friends.” The woman’s expression drew back.

“The Queen is only interested in you.”

“I’m not going to lie to you, you’re in a terrible position, and there is a strong prospect that you won’t be leaving this place alive.” The woman stepped back from the gate and peered up at Ben with inquisitive eyes that soon flooded with a sad memory.

“You look like him, but then again, you look so much like her, too.” The memories the woman had didn’t feel like those surrounding his parents. The woman was referencing someone else.

“Who are you?” Ben asked. The woman’s past was stringent in the ways of diplomacy and compassion, so when the man who was Kylo Ren inquired of who she was, she couldn’t help but remember the beginning. A flash of thought like lightning struck the old woman, and she was back on Naboo in Theed Royal Palace watching on as Senator Amidala and her Jedi Knight roved the halls.

Yes, indeed, young Ben Solo was the perfect mix of the two. 


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sensitivity warning: This may or may not be needed, but I rather be mindful of others than not. Just a heads up there is a part in this chapter where a character considers allowing themselves to be killed. I just want to play it safe and say if you're someone who struggles with thoughts of suicide maybe skip over this chapter.   
> Rey and Ben go before the Queen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sensitivity warning: This may or may not be needed, but I rather be mindful of others than not. Just a heads up there is a part in this chapter where a character considers allowing themselves to be killed. I just want to play it safe and say if you're someone who struggles with thoughts of suicide maybe skip over this chapter.   
> Also, I don't own these characters they belong to the mouse.   
> A couple things, in this chapter Ben is held responsible for the destruction of the Hosnian system. I don't believe Ben to be responsible for that at all, but for those who don't know Ben and only see him as Kylo Ren it's easy for them to believe that he is responsible. A second thing, Rey remembers the time Luke taught her to dance. For anyone who hasn't read The Last Jedi novel that was something I pulled from that novel. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy and Thank You!

“Right now, all I am to you is your representation.” The old woman responded and promised herself she’d ignore any more inquires of her past. That would come later, but now there were more important things to discuss.

“Ben?” The old woman glanced behind Ben, to find a shadow in the cell stirring beneath a hole-ridden blanket.

 _I’ll talk to the head of security about getting these two a more suitable situation_ , the old woman thought. Eyes that had seen the rise and fall of the empire watched the young Jedi rise from her sleep and approach the gate. A hand at the woman’s back, Ben connected his gaze with hers as unspoken declarations passed between the two. The old woman watched the exchange in bitter pity as her chest grew heavy with unfulfilled dreams now lost to a meadow in the middle of Naboo. What was it about the Skywalker bloodline that left everyone so broken? How was it that such great power could rain upon those so blessed, but in the end, swallow whole all that is loved?

 _No matter, the two are in this till the end_ , the old woman reminded herself. 

“Are you familiar with the Pathos of the Elders?” The woman asked, and Rey’s curious gaze drifted to the woman shorter than her, but filled with hidden compassion. Rey trusted the woman without question despite not knowing her name. Rey and Ben remained silent for a moment, they had no idea. 

“That’s what Lando shouted to us,” Rey confirmed.

“Well, you, Rey of Jakku, I will give you a pass on that one. As for Ben,” The woman smiled, wishing she’d had the chance to know his mother more than she did.

“I suppose it’s possible your mother never mentioned the process, and thankfully it’s an easy one to understand. Queen Carise isn’t going to hear your testimony. She won’t even bother with much of a trial. Your sentencing will come quick, and when it does, you must request the Pathos of the Elders. Queen Carise’s court is filled with those who knew your mother and her parents. People who once lived and breathed on Alderaan. They won’t allow her to sacrifice a son of Alderaan, who mentions one of their most sacred beliefs. However, I am warning you that once you declare the Pathos of the Elders you’ll have to play by the Queen’s rules. She’ll be the one to choose what is asked of you. It could be any impossible task, but you were once a Jedi, so nothing can be too impossible for you.” Ben’s gaze fell to the ground with thoughts almost too heavy to carry.

“What about Rey?”

“The Queen could have her kept prisoner here while you complete the tasks at hand or have her released to the Resistance.”

“And if I fail?” Ben’s voice met gravel with the idea.

“You won’t,” Rey interjected, and she filled Ben’s mind with her breaking out of the fortress unseen, stealing the nearest vessel, and coming to get him wherever he might be. 

“You say tasks, how many exactly?” Rey asked.

“It’s up to the Queen, but generally twelve with strict rules.” The old woman raised a finger.

“You must obey her rules no matter how silly they sound. If you break one, it means you start over, and if you break too many of them, then you’re expelled, and your sentence is left to Queen Carise. So, in this instance, don’t be like your father.”

“And when Ben completes all the tasks? What does that mean?”

A gentle sway of the old woman’s attention met the hallway she’d just come from. In silence, the woman beheld the empty hall as Ben might if he survives the tasks at hand, and like starlight from above the gloom was washed away and replaced with freedom.

“Ben Solo would be free to leave. His crimes, as far as the New Republic is concerned, would be forgiven.”

When Birren’s sun kissed the horizon, Ben and Rey were cuffed and lead away from the dark cell and placed outside among the dew filled grass and singing insects greeting the morning. The two stood before a barrage of soldiers, all of whom looked on with disgust as they tightly held their weapons to keep from taking a cheap shot at the downcast man. When the head guard arrived with his entourage tightly behind him and making a show of their protection of him, a swift signal was given, and Ben and Rey were lead across the courtyard towards the central tower. By now sunlight became a soft visitor and swayed through the forest before touching the courtyard. The several statues carved from milky stone shaped the Queen in all her assumed glory, and at the base of each statue, a flood of clear water bloomed forth and met a pool filled with emerald fish larger than Rey. Still, more sculptures of Birren’s native wildlife peaked from the many corners. Some with horns, some with sharp beaks, others with teeth, and long tails. Fountains stretching to almost meet the trees beyond the primary curtain wall created thick waterfalls with gap enough to see they hid secret rooms. Rey wanted so desperately to know what the water looked like from that room. The courtyard’s garden remained most handsome of all, with vibrant flowers cascaded together to look like an ocean of orange, blue, green, and purple. Ornate, winged insects by the dozen danced from one widely bloomed flower to the next. 

Despite the rather formal gathering outside, Ben had an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach as he considered the Queen. It was early in the morning, but the tower before him, the one acting as the Queen’s central court, buzzed in the Force. Ben expected a rather empty court, but indeed the Force attempted to warn him. Entering the central tower, Ben and Rey were met with a savage roar booming from the greatest height as many rose to their feet to make known their disgust at the sudden entry. The Queen’s court held a capacity near equivalent to the entire population of the city, and even as Ben stole a final glance around the court, he saw many crowded around the doors. A brilliant glass ceiling depicting a queen with closed eyes glittered light upon the new arrivals making Ben and Rey appear as colorful as the flowers outside. The glass above molded into thick stone columns attached to which were the many levels of seating that allowed for such a gathering. Pushed forth by the guards, Ben and Rey were forced to walk at a slow pace giving the entire crowd time to holler out insults or even spit.

Nestled in a curve of the tower was a golden wall flooding into a throne that needed its own set of stairs for the Queen to reach the top of. There was no person higher than the throne, making Queen Carise the loftiest of all and at the base of her throne, splayed out like an heirloom garment, were the trappings of her court; her advisers, lawmakers, and more. Mostly older, but of all present, these people were the quietest of them all.

A swift kick to the back of Ben’s knee brought him to kneel before the Queen, who took her time staring down at the final Organa; there would be no more after him. After the crowd got their fill of rage, the Queen gathered her prestige and slowly, with a radiant gown that captured every light in the tower, she descended the stairs. Queen Carise, cunning as she was, made use of her morose savagery by showcasing her favorite attire that included the colors of Alderaan, but she didn’t stop there. Several of the rings on her finger were made from Alderaan’s precious minerals and were sculpted in the form of its sun and as for the crown Queen Carise wore on her head, it was one once belonging to Queen Breha Organa.

A sick smile crossed the woman’s face as she approached Ben.

“You’ll be happy to hear your friends are here.” The woman whispered, and Rey glanced over her shoulder to find Finn, Rose, Poe, Lando, and others watching on, their faces daring a single wrong move from the Queen. Rey wished for a way she could tell them that she didn’t know what to expect from this.

“Also, your _representation_ ,” Queen Carise kept her back to the old woman sitting in the front row of the court.

“This man,” Queen Carise rose her voice for all to hear.

“This beast has committed countless crimes against the galaxy, against entire systems, and sentient beings. He has risen against the New Republic in union with Supreme Leader Snoke, and with the help of First Order scientists created Starkiller Base, which destroyed the Hosnian system.” The Queen’s voice weaved between collected fervor and somber grit, and her people ate it up as a final meal. A red stream of light crossed Ben’s memory, and then there were the voices all calling for help. Ben had heard them all during the destruction of the Hosnian system, and it was a constant wailing he rarely went a night without hearing. Crestfallen, Ben thought of Lor San Tekka and Tehar, of all the lives he ended without mercy. Gone was the excuse of gobbling anger Kylo Ren was convinced to keep fed if it meant completing the circle Darth Vader began. Queen Carise continued, and with each word, she slivered away fragments of Ben’s past. For a moment, Ben allowed his vision to blur as he pictured the parts of himself Queen Carise removed falling to the floor in front of him. Bloody, but throbbing with heartbeat, those parts could not pass into justice yet, so they lay beneath a rainbow of light for all to see.

“Do you deny this?” Queen Carise asked. Ben blinked the blur from his eyes and answered.

“No.” 

“We have at least two dozen First Order witnesses from the Battle of Crait that can attest Kylo Ren is responsible for the death of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker.” Ben wasn’t going to fight the woman over Luke’s intentions that day or what they lead to, so when Queen Carise asked of his denial, Ben answered. 

“No.”

“While rumor, I believe it’s true Kylo Ren is responsible for Captain Han Solo’s death, tell me Ben Solo, is that true?” A snap in the Force, like breaking wood, and Ben realized that Rey was standing on her feet, face red as battle, and eyes dangerous as a lightsaber.

“You know nothing of Ben Solo, of his family, or his past.” Rey’s voice permeated the air as lightning waiting to strike. Ben sensed it and, in response, smoothed over the Jedi’s outrage with a calm of his own.

 _This must happen, Rey_. Ben’s voice reached Rey’s mind as a whisper, one touching her as if he were holding her hand or kissing her lips.

Biting her lip to keep from saying more, Rey went back to her original position.

“If that’s all,” Queen Carise spared no look to Rey, only keeping greedy eyes on the man before her.

“Do you, Ben Solo, deny killing your own father?”

“I don’t deny it.” In mindful suspension, Ben was far away from the fortress, far from the Queen, far from the crowd. The man bent before a wicked Queen transformed into Kylo Ren. Head to toe in black, the lost boy witnessed his father walk towards him. Kylo Ren didn’t want to take off his mask, he didn’t want the intimacy that came when one saw skin so prone to truth, and he didn’t want his father to know how much he’d missed him. Kylo Ren had scoffed at Han Solo’s compassion and love the day he killed his father, but that hand on his cheek left eternal flames Ben Solo could never shake. A daze passed through Ben, and everything turned to nothing. 

Tilting his head back, Ben brought his eyes to Queen Carise, whose attention was now on the crowd. Her words warbled and sank, drifted far from Ben as if Queen Carise were on another planet. A silly word like death dropped from the woman’s lips like venom, and the crowd howled with greedy volume.

 _Death_ , Ben questioned, _I thought I’d already survived it?_

Ben watched the Queen survey the pleased crowd with head held high. It looked, to the Queen, that she would truly be the one to execute Kylo Ren. Ben dropped his gaze back to the ground, to the Queen’s shadow as it darkened the bits of Kylo Ren she’d managed to pull away for all the world to see. The blood now black and throbbing pulse now stilled, maybe this was for the best. Perhaps, there was nothing Ben Solo could do for the galaxy. Maybe, all the things he’d seen while caught in that place after Exegol were just fever dreams? Maybe, there was no coming back. A small chuckle reached Ben’s lips; he’d died once before. It wasn’t so bad the first time, maybe the second time…

 _Rey?_ Ben flinched when his thoughts turned to her. A jolt of electricity, a warning, a pledge, and adoration rang in Ben’s mind, but the dizziness dulled it.

“Pathos of the Elders!” A bright voice called out, but the crowd continued to roar over the demand.

“Pathos of the Elders!” The voice called again, and this time Ben nudged his attention towards the clear calling. The dizziness passed and plain as day Ben saw Rey on her feet, the light from the ceiling crowing her in a far fairer crest then any queen or king were capable of handling.

“Pathos of the Elders!” Rey called out for a final time, and Queen Carise heard Rey. Queen Carise turned from the base of her throne and locked eyes on the Jedi before dragging an even more dangerous gaze to the old woman. The crowd sizzled and quieted as the Queen approached the Jedi.

“Pathos of the Elders?” The Queen hissed with eyes made final and promising. Rey leaned her head towards the Queen and, with a snarl, confirmed the Queen’s question.

“My Queen, it is within the established beliefs and practices of this court to allow subjects to avail themselves of the right to the Pathos of the Elders.” One of the law keepers called, she continued with the statutes involved with such a decision, but the Queen raised her hand as the voices of hundreds rang out in dismay. Disbelief swept over the crowd.

What was worse than once being involved with the First Order? For Queen Carise there was a clear answer. Allowing Kylo Ren to walk free and unable to be persecuted by the New Republic.

“This hearing is dismissed!” Queen Carise nearly screamed against the voices of the people. She’d promised them blood, and all they’d get is the knowledge a living monster was locked away in the Queen’s fortress.

As they were dragged away, the cuffs on Rey and Ben were pulled so tight against their skin raised flesh boiled over. While the crowd’s yell grew, so did the speed at which the guards removed Rey and Ben. Rey wasn’t sure, but it was possible that a riot broke out some time after they left.

Locked in their cell, Rey removed her cuffs with ease, and looking to Ben, she waited for him to do the same, but he remained it the same place the guards left him. Ben faced the wall furthest from the gate with small lines of blood trickling from beneath the cuffs to his fingertips. A numb mind met Rey’s when she caressed Ben’s thoughts. Dark eyes still locked on the lightlessness before him, Ben didn’t respond. Edging closer, Rey waved a hand over Ben’s cuffs and watched them fall to the ground with a loud smack that made Ben flinch just a little. Taking Ben by the wrists, Rey’s hands disappeared when she flipped over Ben’s hands so that they were facing palm up. With her thumbs, Rey caressed Ben’s wounds until she felt the raised skin become even and closed.

Prepared to look up to Ben, Rey paused when she saw bright cyan peeking out from underneath the cuff of Ben’s top. Plucking the ruffled item from his clothing, Rey identified it as a petal the size of her palm. A petal from the courtyard’s garden. Ben somehow managed to sneak it earlier as they were escorted to the Queen’s court. Running her fingers lightly over the petal, Rey could hardly name every color, and then she wondered what beauty it must have in the sunlight. Tears welled in the woman’s eyes as she tried to question the man in front of her.

“Did you see him?” A broken voice asked Ben.

“Did you see your father?”

Ben’s answer came as a whisper. He’d seen his father in all the dizziness brought on by the Queen’s words.

“Your father loved you,” Rey said, and she was prepared to remind him of this until Ben’s belief in it became as solid as hers.

“Han, wouldn’t want you to die. He did what he did to bring you home, and he’d do it again.” Rey hoped when she looked up, she would see Ben’s gaze on her instead of the black wall behind them. Tilting her head back, she instead found Ben’s lips waiting for hers. A forlorn taste met Rey’s lips but washed into a sweet embrace as lips fell together in a perfect blend. Ben’s warmth never faded, and so Rey felt it as sunlight on her face.

For hours there was no movement of life beyond Ben and Rey’s cell. As it appeared to them by eyes alone, they were locked in a chamber of stone and darkness with nothing but each other to squelch the loneliness. Back against the cold floor, Rey watched the ceiling above and thought of it as a dark, starless night on Jakku. With that heap of a home behind her and a vast desert before her, Rey shook from herself the screaming dread of another night alone. She’d choose this moment right here over her best night in Jakku. Running her fingers over the petal, Rey found solace in feeling her path with Ben to be long and if by some miracle in the Force, perpetual. The Force beyond the wall of stone spoke of a calming city with a simmering Queen. If there were riots, they were quieted now, and as for the Queen and her court, there remained more formal events to tend to. Late into the night, Ben heard the soft musings of music absent of conversation’s rattle. The continuous flow of music reminded Ben of gatherings his mother and father were invited to, ones he’d never been interested in before; however, the music was always beautiful.

“Do you hear that?” Ben’s voice ruptured the internal quiet of the cell. Holding her breath, Rey picked up on what Ben was hearing. Next to each other on the cell’s floor, Ben and Rey hushed their thoughts in an attempt to hear the melody, something slow and shaking, like a flower subject to a gentle breeze. Rey recalled the night Luke offered his hand in dance, she’d been scared to dance that night, but now was a bit different. Shifting from memory to memory, Ben remembered his mother teaching him how to dance, but after that, there was nothing else regarding it. Taking to his feet, Ben lowered his hand to help Rey up and into his arms. One hand on her waist and the other holding Rey’s hand, Ben felt Rey move her hand to his shoulder. Treading his fingers to cup Rey’s waist, Ben brought Rey closer and moved with the light music, improvising with gentle sways when its tune was too soft to hear. 

It didn’t surprise Rey that Ben was a good dancer. His grace in battle noted both his endurance and speed. However, Ben’s hearted canter and ease at which he held Rey, only served to reinforce the idea that Ben was, to his core, gentle. The harsh movement of stepping subsided into a flawless alluring hold as Rey molded with Ben’s every move, and almost as if being rocked to sleep, the woman found herself resting her head on Ben’s chest. Their pair of hands let go of each other so that Rey could better wrap her arms around Ben’s neck, and likewise, Ben encircled Rey’s waist. A living dream passed over Rey as she realized Ben wasn’t just taught to be gentle, he was born that way.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn, Poe, and Rose discuss what to do about Ben and Rey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own these characters, the mouse does.

An incessant rain passed over Birren churning the sky above into a chasmic darkness of rumbles and twisted lightning. When afternoon flipped into the evening, Finn could hardly tell as the forest, and the base resting within it was dark for hours. Poncho on, Finn told Rose and Poe after coming back from the sentencing trial that he’d be on the other side of the base, fixing broken parts or something. Poe wasn’t sure about that last part as Finn mumbled it under his breath before taking off in the rain. That’s how Finn spent his afternoon and early evening, on the least manned part of the base with his hands occupied by tools and his mind running like a podracer. Unbothered by the rain soaking his face and running down his back, the young general couldn’t get the image of Rey standing before the Queen defending Ben Solo.

Fierce? Rey had always been fierce, Finn knew that without a doubt. Rey was also blunt, quick on her feet, a bit impatient at times, often jumped into situations without knowing the entire scope, she was also kind, compassionate, and _forgiving_. Finn tossed the tool in his hand across the small shop he claimed. Was this about forgiving one’s enemies? Was this about healing? Finn didn’t fully understand.

“She was alone.” Finn reminded himself. That was a back of the mind kind of recall. Finn, up until seeing Rey call Ben from the bounds of space without words, considered loneliness as a pass of time. Eventually, Rey wouldn’t be lonely. Once the war was over, she’d collect herself as Poe and the others would, and then she’d come to know she was never alone and never would be. That moment never arrived for Rey, even as she returned from the battle of Exegol only to turn around and seemingly runaway into the depths of space. It’d killed Finn to watch Rey go and bend herself from company willingly. She wasn’t alone, didn’t she know that? Watching her today with Ben Solo left an odd feeling in Finn’s stomach. A gut reaction mixed with a resounding inclination to remain still and witness. Finn was waiting for something, a reason or change to help him grasp why saving Ben Solo was so important to her.

“You’ve been staring at that converter for a while now. You need me to fix it?” Rose’s voice mixed with the rain outside, and Finn wished she’d never stop speaking to him. Finn was alone for most of the day, and having Rose suddenly appear was a relief. Facing Rose, Finn also found Poe entering the same makeshift shop. 

“I’m trying…” Finn’s voice dropped.

“I know,” Rose answered.

“We’re all trying to do the same thing right now.” Poe crossed his arms, leaving Finn to know his co-general hadn’t come to any resolution either. 

“They won’t kill Rey. We won’t let them get that far.” Finn caught the same words as Poe. They agreed with there not being a need for any agreement when it came to Rey; they would always come to her aide. Finn placed the other tool in his hand to the side, wiped the oil from his hands, and took a seat on a nearby discarded crate. Head in hands, Finn spoke the question bugging him most.

“Why does he look at her like that?” Striking eyes, those of a Kylo Ren preparing to cut down an entire platoon, were the same of Ben Solo, only with doffed violence replaced with rich sincerity and ardent _fervor._ Finn both knew and didn’t know what it meant to see that gaze in Ben.

“For the same reason, I look at you like that,” Rose answered. Finn’s head left his hands and found Rose’s gaze on him, soft and sweet, but sad, given the thought that Rey could very well lose Ben.

“I guess the question we should be asking is, what do we do about Ben?” Rose bit her lip as soon as the question left her lips. She already had her own answer.

“Caring for Rey means caring for Ben. If we want to help her, we have to help him.” Rose caught Poe out of the corner of her eye, running a frustrated hand through his wet hair.

“We just forget about everything? Right? We forget about Han and every single Resistance prisoner that was taken by Kylo Ren’s hand and killed? And I don’t want to hear that it’s a war, okay. Kylo Ren wasn’t some Stormtrooper. He was a fallen Jedi. He knew right from wrong and what he did is…” Poe stopped when the spew met words he knew Leia would never say.

“Rose, I saw him kill Han. I saw him murder his own father.” Finn added.

“I’m not going to defend his actions; however, I will say that Ben shares the same space as Rey. He mends her clothes, cooks for her, they read to each other. If what is good about Ben is Rey, then if we turn our backs on him, we’re turning our backs on her. They’re one and the same.” Rose recalled the Tatooine homestead with bits of Ben and Rey scattered throughout. 

“Poe, that’s Leia’s son. What do you think she’d want?” Rose asked.

“She’d want us to help him,” Poe growled.

“Finn?” Rose looked to the man who hadn’t yet parted his gaze from her. Rose looked the same as she had on Crait; fearless and knowing.

“What about Chewie?” Finn asked, the Wookiee spoke little lately and ate even less, which was alarming to Maz.

“Chewie’s come around, but I don’t think he knows it yet. C-3PO and R2-D2 are prepared to offer their help, whether authorized or not, and we all know how Lando feels.”

Finn stared out into the rain, in the direction of the fortress where his dearest friend was kept. Once upon a time on Jakku when Finn was lost and in need of help, he ran into a young woman. They had a rough start, but Finn soon found that the young woman was trusting, good, loyal, and would fight down an entire galactic war if it meant saving him. She was his first friend he could trust. 

“Let’s do this.” 


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben are awoken in the middle of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters are not mine, they belong to the mouse.

“Get up!” A thick voice rang over Ben as he was kicked awake. The guard’s tough boots met Ben’s back at a spot where a tender wound from Exegol rested. A jolt of pain, almost like falling down that pit again, rang in Ben, causing him to turn quickly, too quickly. Ben looked up from the ground to find every weapon aimed at him, the searing electric blue of so many staffs promised Ben a fast retribution should he make the wrong move. However, this isn’t what disturbed Ben; he’d had plenty of weapons trained on him over the years. No, what bothered him the most was the hot gaze of so many looking down on him. These guards were terrified of him and even more, most expected to one day use those weapons in their hands on Ben. It was only a matter of time. Lowering his head, Ben gently nudged a sleeping Rey who rested in the cave created by Ben’s curved form. Thankfully, for the guards, Rey was spared the rude awakening. Ben smiled inwardly at the stupidity of such a move and the reaction of Rey correcting the guards long before he would ever have the chance.

A groggy Rey willingly allowed Ben to help her to her feet before both prisoners were slapped with a pair of cuffs. Ben half expected it to be morning when he and Rey were brought outside, but no, it was a bit after midnight. A gallery of stars hung over the sleeping courtyard. Most of the flowers long folded up beneath the night, but the fountains still babbled, and the statues became like brilliant, silver moons trapped within the courtyard. At the center of the courtyard, the guards abruptly stopped and guided Ben and Rey in a direction that would not take them to the Queen’s court. Instead, they were guided beneath the threshold of an archway and down a dirt pathway with thickets to either side. At the sight of a rough stoned home, the guards stopped. Small, with only a single entrance to speak of and worn glass widows adorning the second floor, it was easy to tell this home once belonged to a Queen’s attendant, perhaps one of her gardeners. Stepping forward from the darkness, the head guard eyed the home behind him in disgust before handing an even heavier glance to Ben. 

“You’ll be staying here for the remainder of your time. Use those Force inclinations of yours, and you’ll find this area filled to the brim with my guards. Make a wrong move, and I’ll do to you what our Queen wasn’t able to tonight. Tomorrow, you’ll both be taken before the court.” Roughly, cuffs were removed, and a guard activated the panel door. The moment it slid open, Ben and Rey were pushed into the darkened home.

Warmer than the cell with the scent of earth wafting from every wall, Ben and Rey exchanged confused looks before coming to the same conclusion; the old woman had seen to it they were given a better place to stay. Once their eyes adjusted, Ben located the tiny home droid intended to keep the homestead livable. Gentle lights were turned on, as Ben and Rey wandered the home. A small kitchenette, a lounge chair suitable for a small family, and upstairs, a single bedroom with room enough for Ben’s restless form and Rey’s heavy sleeping. It was more than enough, Ben thought. At one of only two windows offered in the homestead, Ben peered out over the courtyard and beyond that the forest, which leads to the Resistance. Moonlight embraced Ben’s figure, smoothing out his features until they reminded Rey too much of what it was like to stare into the place between places.

A shadow of a beard on Ben’s face reminded Rey how long they’d been here and reaching a hand to his cheek she traced the rough texture. A bit curious, Rey raised her lips to Ben’s and lingered there as gentle scratches tickled her. Pulling away, Rey savored the kiss while cupping Ben’s face and running her thumbs over the darkened areas of Ben’s cheeks. When a soft chuckle escaped Ben, it paused Rey long enough for Ben to dive his chin to her neck. Rubbing the beginnings of a beard along Rey’s neck and chest, Ben smiled when he heard Rey’s quiet laughter, but the moment eased into another that left the two somber.

“Do you think she’ll separate us for your first task?” Rey kept her head on Ben’s shoulder, allowing her the near soundless question. Ben sensed a drain in Rey, and like a withering flee, ideas rushed through Rey. Death could not keep her from him, so this Queen could do nothing. 

“Does separation really apply to us?” Ben’s answer came with him pulling Rey closer and away from the window. Rey shook her head into Ben’s neck as he guided her to the bed. Already, the chill from outside permeated the window and swallowed the room. Beneath the blankets, Rey set her battle-worn body in Ben’s warmth and waited for a sleep that would not come tonight. Too overdrawn, too on guard, new thoughts of tomorrow raced through the woman’s mind.

“Rey,” Ben’s whisper tickled almost as much as his beard had.

“Luke and I once got separated while escaping a band of Sith cultists. Luke, thinking I’d already gotten off the planet, found a vessel and went in search for me. Eventually, I got away myself only to fly into a massive asteroid belt. An exogorth nearly swallowed me whole, and then it caught the tail end of my vessel. I went spiraling out of control and hit the damn thing as it opened its mouth. From the inside of the exogorth, I managed to activate an escape pod. It had no navigational abilities or communication. I’d just be sitting in the middle of space, and that’s what I did. I sat in the middle of space. Do you know who found me despite not knowing I was in trouble?” Rey shook her head.

“My father. He was on a mission and happened to find me.” Ben ended the story with something he knew Rey accepted long before he was even able to; after all, it had been from Rey that Ben learned this very important lesson.

“All is as the Force wills it to be.” 


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben is given his first task.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters are not mine they belong to the mouse.

Standing outside the Queen’s tower, Ben and Rey watched the gloom of a new morning settle on the surrounding guards. Dew, speckled with a clouded sky, fell on everything and blurred the world. As Ben compelled himself to do before battles, he did so now and began to empty his mind. The single change from the emptiness before when he fought under the name Kylo Ren and now came in what Ben ensconced upon his soul. Before, Kylo Ren convinced himself he had no soul, and as a result, to inscribe anything there would be foolish, and he was no fool. Now, Ben knew he had a soul, and the spirited action of placing a name at the helm of his soul was one of great thought, so as Ben emptied himself, he focused his attention on Rey. The dew from above crowned the woman in tiny pearls of water, collected on her eyelashes, her lips, and hair she no longer wore in three buns because she’d found her family and the search was over.

Ben counted the weeks he’d been with Rey and cursed them as too few, far too few. He’d barely witnessed the woman in all the world’s glow, never seen her awe-stricken face as she glanced on to Chandrila’s seas or took in the lights of Coruscant. Even now, as rain touched Rey’s features, Ben wanted nothing more than to brush his thumb over her cheeks and feel her warmth mixed with the sky’s nature. Feeling his attention on her, Rey offered Ben a silent smile, one intended only for him and attached to unblinking eyes with razor affinity. Inwardly, Rey felt the petal Ben gave her pressing against her bare skin beneath clean clothes brought to them by the old woman representing Ben.

“Get moving!” A nudge to Ben’s back and the duo moved together into the Queen’s court and as before it was the same now. The people of Birren rose to their feet with high pitched roars and vows of destruction. While his mind told him to lower his head, Ben took the ignominy with long strides and a raised head as his soul proclaimed something else entirely. The move didn’t escape the attention of Queen Carise.

 _The last Organa’s obstinacy will be his downfall_ , Queen Carise told herself. At the base of her throne, where Queen Carise thought Ben belonged, she caught a second look at the young man’s eyes and a gaze so similar to Leia’s. Everywhere the man glanced to, the mighty throne made from Alderaan’s precious metals, the gold wall behind her, the massive pillars proclaiming a shine of minced gem, it all came with an air of disappointment, to Ben as to his mother, this was wasteful and not of the true nature of Alderaan. A sigh, more like a hiss, the Queen descended to the base of her throne and took in the bent form of Ben Solo and the Jedi.

“Some time ago, your First Order left the planet of Birren with a _gift_. As I’m sure you’re aware of, First Order scientists were well known for their predilection of genetic modification. Your geneticists created and then let loose a modified red Corellian sand panther on a Twi’lek camp nearby, one you believed contained Resistance members. I guess it wasn’t enough to take the Twi’lek’s home. You had to wreak havoc on what little they had left. Thankfully, due to my compassion, I had my guards chase the beast to the water flats of the Great Fall. The only way to gain entrance to the flats is through the Twi’lek camp. Take up your entrance with them and if they let you enter, slay the panther and bring its head to me.” From the crowd, Lando watched on with Finn, Rose, Poe, Chewie, Maz, BB-8, C-3PO, and R2-D2. At the mention of the Corellian sand panther, Maz shook her head, leaving Poe, who sat next to her, with misgivings of his own. The general had seen sand panthers take down entire units while sustaining wounds that should have ended the beast’s life, but didn’t. Poe didn’t want to think about what a genetically modified sand panther was capable of.

“This isn’t good,” Maz mumbled, and Chewie groaned in agreement.

“What is it?” Finn asked he’d seen Kylo Ren fight first-hand several times. A sand panther should be nothing for the man to handle.

“Queen Carise is blaming the First Order for the sand panther,” Lando spoke so no one outside their small bubble could hear.

“Isn’t she right? The First Order often introduced invasive wildlife to decimate planets before the troops came in to take over.” Rose offered.

“Queen Carise is the one who requested the sand panther be released on the Twi’lek camp. She’s placing the blame on Ben when he had little to do with it.” Lando fixed his gaze on Ben. He looked better, more focused, utterly determined even.

“How do you know that?” Finn asked.

“Han was the one who captured the original sand panther. It was intended for a buyer in the Outer Rim, but a First Order hyperlane blockade confiscated the beast. When Han found out what they intended to do with the sand panther, he located the lab and destroyed it. He got the original, but by then, they must have already created a modified clone. This wasn’t Ben’s doing, this was Snoke.” 

“Does that somehow make it better?” Poe questioned. Lando didn’t answer. The older man’s wit demanded a comeback, but Lando’s experience spoke to him as Luke once did; there was no forcing someone to accept something, sometimes they just had to see it for themselves.

“You’ll go with no weapon,” The Queen spoke matter of factly, intending for her words to stir some fear in the man below her.

“My guards will not go with you, so if you intend to escape, then you can consider the Pathos of the Elders to be void. You’ll not receive another chance to correct yourself.” The Queen watched Ben remain unmoved by her words.

“You’ll also receive no outside help. Not from the Jedi, not from the Resistance. Do you understand?” Ben locked his gaze on the Queen for the first time and rumbled a ‘yes.’

“We can’t help them,” Rose commented, her hope somewhat dashed. 

“We go as witnesses then,” Maz said.

Beyond the primary curtain of the fortress, Ben and Rey were loaded on a transporter and shuttled to the mere outskirts of the Twi’lek refugee camp. A dense forest gave way to dustings of brush and yellowed meadows with hollow, dying grass. Cuffs off, Rey first, then Ben were escorted off the transport and to the empty field.

“Remember, your Jedi friend can’t help you, and you can use no weapon. If you do, we’ll know, and the Queen doesn’t take kindly to cheaters.” The head guard warned before signaling to the other guards it was time to go. Left to the field, Ben and Rey glanced in the direction they knew the camp to be. Smoke from several fires rose above the hill blocking Rey and Ben’s view, and as they drew closer to the top of the hill, it was to find slick mud oiling the natural boundary.

“It’s like they’re trapped here,” Rey spoke against a dull air wafting from the camp at the base of the hill. The gloom of the morning appeared heavier here as if it actually pressed on the people below, attempting to silence them. A mud-filled camp scrapped together with old cloth, and other materials outlined a homestead far too small for so many people. Even before entering the camp, Rey and Ben heard the coughs of a dense life. Neighbors lived on top of neighbors, and scant resources offered the population almost nothing in the way of food, so many were forced to venture to the forests or rivers where successful hunting and fishing wasn’t always a guarantee. A child’s piercing cry welcomed the two as they entered the camp. Not used to visitors, many of the Twi’leks shuffled into their homestead, unwilling to speak or even look at the intruders. Feeling their mistrust, Rey sought out the glaring attention of the leader. Like a knife in the Force, the camp’s leader held a sharp focus on the two. Nudging Ben’s shoulder, Rey quietly gestured to the woman approaching Ben with singular attention.

A blue Twi’lek with dark leather garments hiding several weapons, the woman held no intention of using a single one on the ex-Supreme Leader instead…

“Oh no,” Ben mused knowing what was going to happen next before the woman’s palm fell like acid on his cheek. Keeping his head down, Ben promised by body language alone that he meant no harm.

“ _Kylo Ren_ ,” The woman hissed as her entourage gathered behind her, weapons ready.

“Ryloth, your grotesque armies against my men. There were twenty of us and try as your Stormtroopers did, they couldn’t kill the last of my men. I remember the day your shuttle landed.” The woman spat at Ben’s feet before pulsing her hands at his chest and grabbing his clothes to wrench him down to her gaze. An urgency in Rey to intervene was met with a soundless inclination from Ben that he was fine.

“You killed us like vermin. Even when we surrendered, you still murdered us.” Eye to eye with a man the leader saw only as a beast, Ben’s worn face gave no answer for his actions.

“Have you come to end the rest of us?” The woman gestured to the north side of the camp.

“The more defenseless ones are over there if you’d like to start with them.” The woman pushed away from Ben.

“I’m here to-“ Ben started.

“I know what you’re here for.” The woman spat, crossed her arms, before subduing a cough deep in her lungs.

“Trials, right? You kill the big bad sand panther, and the galaxy _forgives_ you? You could kill a thousand of those things and still not be worth the dirt in my food.” The woman raised her hand again, but this time Ben caught it. Cold, blue flesh met warm skin. Placing his other hand over the Twi’lek’s balled fist, Ben closed his eyes and took no regard for the leader’s guards as they prepared to fight. Slowly, Ben leeched the illness from the woman, lapped it away, leaving her with only fresh air in her lungs and a cleared mind free of fever. Letting go of the woman’s fist, her guards took the awed expression on her face as one of rare terror and so they pushed forward prepared to annihilate Ben.

“No,” The leader whispered to her men, before placing a skeptical eye on the fallen Jedi before her.

“Your people are ill. It isn’t much, but it would be an undeserved honor to heal them.” A tick in Ben’s voice gave room for the leader to hear him for the first time. Genteel, in a way that made her think Ben had removed the hands of Kylo Ren and replaced them with new ones that had never carried a weapon, it was hard to answer him. The leader, still offering only disgust for the creature before her, could not lie to herself in regards to her people. The harsh daze of fever and lethargy was something almost no resident of the camp was free from, and an offer of healing was something she would not deny on the grounds of hatred.

In a tent barely covered enough to keep the cold breeze out, Ben sat on a stool as sick Twi’leks gathered outside. One by one, each Twi’lek approached the man and allowed him to take their illness. While hostility rained in their eyes, most of the sick left with hidden gratitude and some with mumbled thanks. A war-torn Twi’lek who’d lived through the murder of his family at the hands of the First Order sat before Ben with unblinking eyes. The man’s mind bubbled with the scream of war, and the sight of his family picked off one by one by the enemy. It was in the old man’s mind to strike Ben, but he let that thought go when Ben took his hand and eased his digging fever. The old man leaned back, surprised.

“I remember the Jedi.” The old man, surprised by the clarity in his own voice, replaced the thoughts of war with ones of his youth.

“How is that you have peace in you like theirs, but were once capable of such death?” Ben didn’t answer the man. The old man shook his head, glanced at the people behind him before getting up to leave.

“I suppose the Force has breadth enough to allow both in a single being.” The man mumbled before leaving.

Dozens of Twi’leks later Ben felt the pinch of exhaustion taking hold, making his eyes droop and mind listless. Putting a hand on his shoulder, Rey touched the edges of Ben’s mind hoping he’d take her offer.

“No,” Ben whispered and accepting his stance, Rey watched on as he accepted more Twi’leks.

When an ill infant was placed in Ben’s arms, the child appeared as a grain of sand before a mountain. Taken aback by the mother’s trust, Ben rested his gaze on the sleeping child before she wiggled herself awake and locked her gaze with the giant looking down on her. A soft smile reached Ben’s lips before he took the infant’s small, green hand with his finger and withdrew her illness. A giggle rippled through the child before she grasped Ben’s finger that only broke when the infant’s mother cooed the child’s name. Several more Twi’leks came, and despite Ben’s exhaustion, he took them all while showing little impact the feat had on him. When all was said and done, the leader took Ben and Rey to the south edge of the camp and pointed to where they might find the sand panther.

“Its weakness is in its neck.” The leader offered before turning back to the camp. 


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben fights the sand panther.   
> I normally listen to music while writing and Cautionary Tales by Jon Bellion was a great listen for this chapter. Very Ben Solo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters don't belong to me.

A heaviness rested on Ben and Rey as they entered another patch of forest. The forest would give, that much Ben could tell, and at the forest’s edge, a still body of water rested. For now, all was fragrant trees and bright verdure. Lush overgrowth boasting with hanging vines and ochre fruit with the occasional sound of native fauna calling out intrigued Rey. Pausing at the top of a fallen tree, Rey absorbed the forest’s extent, catching every life she could with both her eyes and the Force. Specs of sunlight from above fleeted to the earth below unrushed by anything and as for the living; not a single breathing creature existed without knowledge of what haunted the water flats outside the forest. Captivated by the forest’s life, Rey hushed her eyes and sank herself into the Force, feeling every heartbeat and drop of dew, and then there was Ben.

Unworried about the task at hand, Rey wasn’t surprised to know Ben wasn’t concerned about losing or winning when it came to the sand panther. There was, however, a plague of sorts conspiring deep within Ben’s heart. A ruckus of internal voices Ben had yet to let go of, and right now, all of them were recalling his every failure, his every harsh memory, and his father. Rey found the forest and its inhabitants regarding Ben in much the same way a child regards an unknown animal, with both curiosity and hope. The forest, it seemed, was more attuned to forgiveness than most. Opening her eyes, Rey caught Ben watching her, his gaze avid, but logged with grim silence. Hinting a smile, Rey laughed at her position on the fallen tree, at least a meter above Ben’s head. Jumping down to the earth, Rey reached for Ben’s hand and took the near unseen path towards the water flats. There was that heaviness again, the presence of the sand panther in the Force. It was aware of the newcomers, of Ben and Rey, and it was an intertwined mess of anger, hunger, need, and leveling mind.

Approaching the end of the forest brought with it signs of the sand panther; scattered ribs, broken skulls, torn hides, and the sick scent of dried blood. An abrupt stop in the trees lined where the forest ended, and pale sands began that soon gave way to silver waters. The water flats calm for what appeared to be an eternity, but what Ben and Rey knew to end in a chasm. Even from where they stood, Ben and Rey could make out the hint of mist in the distance were the water gave and entered the chasm.

“Bought time you guys showed up.” Lando’s voice welcomed the two. Lando, Redressed in something more fitting for the rough of forest and sand approached the two. Rey could tell where Han had gotten some of his clothes. Behind Lando, Finn smiled and rose from the fallen tree he sat on. Letting go of Ben, Rey ran to Finn, wrapped her arms around his neck, and held him close. Finn smelled of rain and oil, leaving Rey to wonder how the base was doing and if her actions had any impact on the Resistance. Pulling away, Rey greeted Rose and Poe, before Chewie picked her up, swung her around, and embraced her with muffled groans. Ben watched the interaction in silence, quietly joyful before the voices ruptured his internal peace that he could never offer her the same joy.

“Ben Solo,” An unusually soft voice called for the man’s attention. At Ben’s feet, Maz stood, her gaze tilted up and squinted eyes a mix of bemusement and ancient knowing.

“I have hoped for a long time to see you.” Maz began as Ben lowered himself to her level. A slow shake to his head, Ben offered an abashed gaze.

“I’m sorry about the castle,” Ben recalled Takodana before, and after he arrived with the First Order and even under the black clad of his previous attachment, Ben felt an ache at seeing the old castle tumble to pieces. A small hand on his shoulder and Maz waved off the whole endeavor. Leaning in, while fixing her spectacles, Maz reminded Ben he had more important things to deal with.

“Right,” Poe cleared his throat and once again spoke as a general. Hands on his hips, with a finger spared to resting on his holstered blaster, Poe eyed Ben.

“What’s your plan, Ben?” Mistrust filtered through the Force, and for a moment, Ben considered not responding even as other pairs of eyes, both droid and otherwise, rested on him. 

“To survive.” Ben’s answer came as he entered the shallow water of the flats and dredged outwards from the shore. Barley deep enough to reach his heel, Ben spread his attention over the water made near blinding under a sun that had only just appeared from behind a prison of clouds. 

“Not much for words, is he?” Ben heard Poe’s question from shore but shrugged it in favor of seeking the beast. He was further out into the water before Ben heard the others walking behind him. With the exception of BB-8, C-3PO, and R2-D2, the others followed a few meters behind Ben. Confused, Ben locked eyes with Rey, who made it obvious as to what they were doing.

“Witnesses,” Ben muttered to himself.

“How do you two do that?” Finn tilted his head to Rey with the question formed under his breath.

“Do what?” Rey asked.

“Speak without using words?” Finn had seen it several times now, both on Birren and Yavin 4, and each time Ben and Rey’s exchanges left him with the sinking feeling that the two shared something powerful and with power came other darker intents. “You think there’s something dark between us.” Rey focused on the slurp of water over her boots and the occasional rush of breeze over her skin. Within Finn, Rey didn’t mistake Finn’s concern for her just as Finn didn’t misremember the night she bested Kylo Ren.

“Who knows what dark things Snoke taught him. How do you know this isn’t all an act?” Finn asked, and Rey reminded herself that Finn knew nothing of what happened on Exegol, knew little of the dyad, or any other bit of knowledge that would help him understand, but then again, Rey was beginning to realize it would take more than words to change their minds. Besides it was all a story for another day. When Rey didn’t answer, Finn sighed and pulled from his side Rey’s lightsaber.

“I can’t take that right now.” Rey’s answer brought only more confusion.

A sonorous bellow sounded out from the mist sending the water to vibrate under the noise. Ben advanced while the others paused, but all fixed their gazes on the disturbed mist far off in the distance. Another bellow, this time closer, and the pallor mist began to show its shadow in the form of a hulking beast. Gold, intelligent eyes pierced the mist and locked on Ben with immersed surmise as legs compact with gives in muscle and tendon slowly moved towards the object of interest. The beginnings of a blood red coat bled through the mist until the sand panther was close enough for Ben to see the entirety of it. Almost taller than Ben, with an arched hunch that reveled the many fights it’s survived, the sand panther held a gruesome set of teeth behind mangled lips and half-broken whiskers. Dark flesh outlined the pair of eyes, making them appear lost to an abyss and one that Ben would soon be made prey to. Behind the sand panther, a tail wiped back and forth and acted as the only tell the sand panther offered to the outside world. Ben noticed the tail, but noticed more of what the Force spoke of; the sand panther had lived a long and painful life, it knew only pain, and therefore acted as a single companion of such a thing. Head held high, Ben prepared to remind the beast that it was not the only consort of pain. Ben, too, was accustomed to a painful life. Jaw unhinged, the sand panther reveled a double set of jagged teeth and bleeding tongue to go with it. Another bellow ripped through the air, but Ben didn’t let the beast finish. Running towards the sand panther, Ben locked eyes with the beast attempting to subdue its mind, but the creature proved relentless. Dropping the forced connection, Ben swept his hand through the air, causing a wave of water high as the trees in the forest to rise and then fall on both him and the beast. Already the sand panther reared to its hind legs with paws the size of rocks slashing the air in a blind move to strike. Ben dodged the move and jumped to the beast’s back. At the slightest touch, the sand panther took off at a breakneck speed while Ben crawled up the back, trying to get the beast’s weak spot, its neck.

The sand panther threw itself into a roll, pressing Ben into the water, and thinking it had released itself of the man, the beast rose to its feet. A sudden, tight clutch around the beast’s neck told of a bigger battle than the sand panther was prepared for. Arm around the sand panther’s neck, Ben found his footing while he pressed his hip into the beast’s side. Near eye to eye, Ben and the sand panther exchanged warring glances before the sand panther gurgled a mighty roar and snapped its jaw as close to Ben’s face as it could. Pulling tighter, Ben used his every bit of strength to bring the beast down, but even as Ben fell to his knees with the beast’s weight on top of him, the battle seemed far from over. At the crunch of bone in the sand panther’s neck, Ben didn’t let up until the beast was completely still.

“Well, one task down,” Lando mumbled, still unsure of Ben’s condition.

“Is he okay?” Lando turned to ask Rey, who nodded slowly.

“He’s alright, but…” Rey didn’t finish. Ben rolled the beast off of him, reached his feet, and heaved a moment while he caught his breath, but then there it was. A slight twitch to the sand panther. 

“Oh, no.” Rey’s mind rushed to Ben’s almost as fast as a single word to her lips.

“BEN!” The sand panther reached its feet at lightning speed with mouth open. Ben turned to the beast in time to catch its jaws. A hand keeping the upper jaw open and a hand pushing the lower jaw from closing, Ben bent his weight into the beast, pushing him back, as he felt teeth digging into his skin.

Rey flew her hand to the lightsaber at Finn’s side and ignited it. Prepared to march to Ben’s aide, Rey stopped herself.

“He has to do this on his own.” Rey bit her lip, fought with herself before feeling Ben’s needle-sharp intent. Ben wasn’t dismayed by the beast’s sudden revival; in fact, he was itching for a challenge.

Letting out a bellow of his own, Ben came to the realization that whatever the First Order scientists cooked up in this beast, it wasn’t meant to be beaten by any normal means. That was just it; Queen Carise never intended for Ben to bring back proof of the sand panther’s death. She knew of its regenerative qualities and knew that Ben would fail no matter what. A final push against the beast sent the sand panther flying back until it rolled in the water, caught its feet, and rushed for Ben. Jumping to avoid the beast, Ben quickly found the sand panther capable of the same height and was caught by the end of one of its nails and brought crashing to the ground. Another hit left Ben with five long lacerations along his neck and chest. Blood mixed with water while the sand panther reared again prepared to smash Ben’s skull into the water below. Ben rolled, got to his feet, and took every moment he had to catch his breath while the beast barreled towards him. A temptation swept through Ben, and he found himself focusing on the searing pain in his chest.

“No.” Ben breathed, closed his eyes, and surrounded himself with the Force. As a building tide, Ben submerged his every intent in the Force, dipping his thoughts in hope and compassion. Hope for the future and compassion for the Twi’lek camp made a prey by this beast. In a flash, Ben opened his eyes, built up all the water he could, and let the downpour flood the creature towards the chasm while keeping his feet firmly planted. The beast’s steady screams gave way to the roar of water crashing to the earth. Ben sensed the beast and chasing for it, he found the beast prone but gaining strength quickly. The beast sensed its end and desiring to inflict a final blow it regained its footing and charged for Ben. The beast leaped to its greatest height, and Ben followed the action with equal speed. The two collided midair with the beast’s claws digging for any flesh it could and Ben wrapping an arm around the sand panther’s neck. Falling to the earth, the sand panther sent Ben and itself into a spiral for the ground leaving it to fate as to who would find the better position. For the onlookers, it appeared that the beast and Ben were entangled with one another, unable to part, with Ben beneath the sand panther and moments away from being pinned against the shallows.

Ben locked eyes with the beast once more, dove his mind into the sand panther’s, and reminded the glutton of rage who was the true talisman of pain, regret, hatred, and hunger. The beast’s mind flooded with Kylo Ren’s memory, with all the came with gaining everything through pain. The beast shuttered, froze, and relented its rampage as it fell to earth with Ben underneath it.

A short gasp behind Rey reminded the young woman there were others invested in Ben’s survival, and while to them it appeared Ben was dead, Rey knew better. Ben’s form could hardly be seen under the sand panther, but he was there. Stunned into silence, the only sound to come next was from Chewie, who let out a lonesome groan filled with concern. The sand panther’s form shook, moved oddly as if preparing to jump back to life and finish whatever was left of Ben, but that’s not what happened. The beast, pushed up from the bloody water, lay on Ben Solo’s shoulders near lifeless. Slowly, with his legs sinking into the silt below, Ben shuttered one step after another towards the chasm, and at its precipice shrugged the beast into the gulping mist below. 


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sexual content warning: the last two paragraphs of this chapter have sexual content. Again, probably nothing worse than what you'd find in a young adult novel.   
> Ben is given his second task.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters don't belong to me, they belong to the mouse.

Sexual content warning: the last two paragraphs of this chapter have sexual content. Again, probably nothing worse than what you'd find in a young adult novel. 

Every heartbeat became a wave of surrender and affliction. Blood still pulsing from the battle with the sand panther, Ben felt the rise and fall of his chest, but the sensation of air relieving worn muscles never followed. Covered in silty water mixed with his own blood, Ben’s mind ran for Rey’s, and touched on her perception. He was a mess, but he’d survive. The slog of water spitting in every direction met Ben’s ear, and he turned to find Rey racing for him at the edge of the chasm. Her hands at his face, Rey’s touch centered Ben in the here and now. He’d completed his first task, and sure it wouldn’t mean much to the Queen’s court as there was no bodily proof of the sand panther, no head, or even tail to show the Queen, but that didn’t matter so much to Ben. Ben fixed his gaze on the horizon, the same one hazed over by rising clouds meeting a glorious roar of unabashed violets and pinks set to the sky.

 _I did it_ , it was more a question in Ben’s mind as if he didn’t quite believe it possible for him to do good.

Rey’s hands rushed over Ben’s neck and chest as she pressed her palms against the wounds. Warm blood pulsed at Rey’s hands, only pushing Rey to move faster. At Ben’s flesh, Rey pulled more than just wound from his aching body, she retrieved for him strength, and more, she held a greater sense of his current joy. Encountering Ben’s light, what was innate to him, was like spinning towards the earth from a great height. A lovely vexation the churned Rey’s stomach, but also set her with more joy than she thought capable of feeling. Hands covered in Ben’s blood, Rey dropped her arms to her side and listed her gaze to Ben. The sunlight from a now unconcealed horizon bathed the man in colors Rey had never witnessed. So many of their encounters since the beginning were ones of darkness and drapery. Back then, Ben was so pale and extinguished of life it made Rey wonder if it were even possible for sunlight to accept him, but now there was no question of the sunlight and its ability to handle Ben. 

Colors vivid as gems outlined the man’s every strand of hair and dived into his eyes, revealing them not to be as dark as Rey previously thought. Still, there was that subtle joy bouncing in Ben’s mind and plummeting into Rey’s, and it was irresistible. Feeling a dreaming attention on him, Ben faced Rey, her hands bloody, and expression eager. Never minding who watched, Ben ripped a strip of clothing from himself and took Rey’s hands one by one, and cleaned them. Rey touched Ben’s waist until his eyes met hers. She didn’t care who was watching either. Caught entirely in the sun’s light, the Jedi and her other half mused of the softness of each other’s lips as if the salt water had somehow smoothed over them. The taste of sweat only lasted so long before Rey realized there was something else waiting in Ben’s kiss. A delirious wild outlined in a growing comfort. Still far from entirety, Ben was beginning to believe himself good or, at the very least, beginning to claim some good in himself. 

On a transporter sent by the Queen, Rey, Ben, and the others rested quietly with only Ben and Rey subjected to cuffs. However, this did little to shake the two from conversation as Poe noticed them whispering back and forth to one another, their gazes locked and unblinking. As a man responsible for the lives of so many, Poe often found himself thinking of Leia, relying on her abundant teachings to make a decision, and right now, that decision came in the shape of Leia’s only son. Poe’s excuse to himself regarding Ben ended at wanting to help Rey. After all she’d done, after all she’d given up, and was still willing to forfeit, it was important to Poe that he’d be willing to do the same for her. Poe’s mind circled Ben Solo and the scars, both physical and emotional, Poe still carried as a result of being interrogated by Kylo Ren.

 _How_ , Poe asked himself, and maybe a little bit of why mixed in as well. How was it possible for Kylo Ren and Ben Solo to be the same person, and why would the Force allow him even the slightest possibility of forgiveness? Poe accepted plenty of defected First Order soldiers in his time, but none as ruthless as Kylo Ren. Counting on his fingers, Poe couldn’t quite remember how many times he’d run into Kylo Ren’s wake of destruction, _but I’m sure if I asked him of every battle he waged, he’d remember_. The thought rang through Poe before he shuffled it off and promised himself not to think of it again. Still, it was there in Ben Solo’s eyes. All those lives he took, every planet he smoothed over in blood and fire, and if Poe looked long enough, he’d even seen the face of Han Solo.

 _Okay, so maybe he’s haunted by the past, as he should be, but what does that mean for the future_ , Poe leaned forward and brought his gaze to the dirty ground of the transporter.

 _Does it mean a man can do anything and expect forgiveness? If so, then that leaves a hell of a lot of room for people to abuse such a thing. No, there must be more to it_ , Poe glanced up to find Rey smiling at Ben, her eyes bright in a way Poe had never seen them. Overjoyed, despite her situation.

 _Maybe the measure of healing lies in forgiveness. The more we forgive, the more healing there will be,_ Poe huffed and scratched the salt from his hair. Whatever the answer was, Poe felt it would be a while before he arrived to it, and certainly, he’d come to no answer before arriving at the fortress.

Ben wasn’t offered a moment to change or wash up before he was presented before the Queen. Marched into the fortress, Ben wasn’t surprised to find the balconies empty and most of the Queen’s court absent. The Queen’s people, or at least those who didn’t serve her directly, trusted her without question. At the base of her throne, the Queen waited with a stoic smile on her lips. She was ready to deal her hand. On their knees once more, Ben and Rey looked up to the woman and waited for the inevitable. Queen Carise approached Ben, stared into the eyes that were so much like his mother’s, and extended a gloved hand to his chin, forcing him to raise his gaze higher.

“Such a pity. You would have made a great king.” But the comment was more an insult laced in honey disdain.

“I see no sand panther.” Louder now so that everyone could hear her, Queen Carise began to pace.

“Where’s the head?” The Queen smiled at her court, where she won a few chuckles, but not from the old woman watching with obvious contempt.

“Are you serious?” Rey’s gaze darted from the Queen to the torn, blood-stained clothes Ben wore. The Queen paid no mind to Rey and continued.

“I believe I said ‘slay the panther _and_ bring its head to me.’” Queen Carise’s voice turned rosy as if she were talking to a small child who’d just spilled his drink.

“He did kill the sand panther!” Rose yelled, her lips tight, and eyes narrowed at the Queen.

“Ben Solo killed the beast once, it recovered and came back to life, so he killed it again, and tossed it into the chasm. I saw it, both these generals saw it, Lando, the droids, Chewie, they witnessed it as well-“

“I’ll not hear the corruptible admission of a Resistance mechanic.” The Queen’s voice cut through the air. Her sights set on Rose like a predator on prey, Queen Carise approached the young woman.

“After all, if what I heard is true, you put your trust in the hands of a slicer who only turned you and the Resistance over to the First Order. My apologies, if I refuse to take the word of a naive child.” Rose didn’t look away and didn’t blink.

“One thing is for sure, Ben Solo has more regality in his heart than you do in your entire kingdom.” That hit a nerve.

“I’d remind you, Queen Carise, that without the help of the Resistance, Birren would have fallen victim to the First Order’s reach several times over. Despite your strained relationship with General Organa, she still wanted to keep Birren and its people safe.” Finn, voice level as the water flats of Birren, spoke next.

“Fair enough,” The Queen hissed. In a slow walk dripping with gnashing vehemence, Queen Carise stood before Ben Solo once more. Almost forgetting where he was, Ben still played over in his head what the others had said of him. What Finn mentioned about his mother and what Rose said of his heart.

“There is a nashtah, a dirty creature that’s been left to our eastern coast for far too long. It’s big, perhaps the size of the sand panther, and unfortunately for our brave fisherman, the nashtah has grown to enjoy the taste of human flesh. Kill it. Bring its head to me. And again, this must be done without the use of any weapon.”

“Queen-“ Lando began, but the Queen would hear none of it.

“I won’t hear it Lando. I’m giving this First Order scum a second chance, and he’ll be made to follow the same rules as before. Now,” The Queen smoothed the non-existent wrinkles from her dress.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have guests to entertain.” 

It would be hours later when Rey awoke from an unsteady sleep to find Ben manning the balcony outside their room. Face turned to the sky, Ben appeared more like stone than flesh, and even as Rey approached him, it was with a dreaming fear he might disappear beneath the silver light above. Between the two, a whole swarm of misgivings reared and promised an unrestful sleep. Ben sensed Rey’s growing rage towards Queen Carise, her unfairness, and desire to end his life. As always, this pain was deeply rooted in her parents. Stemming from the too many truths that had been revealed to Rey so quickly and without regard to her. Rey picked away at the many torments flooding Ben’s mind. Such a strong belief within Ben, of his worth, and how he still wasn’t convinced he should be allowed to continue on with his life. In silence, Ben and Rey voyaged through their collective minds, wading, diving where needed, and only rising when they were sure they had each other’s hand.

“My rage scares me. When the Queen disregarded what you’d done, I was so angry I could have…” Rey’s warbled voice paused while a single tear grazed her cheek.

“You’ll never be anything like Palpatine.” Ben’s voice, deep as the night chased the fear from Rey’s mind, but like a gathering tide, the fear would return eventually.

“You’re worth fighting for Ben.” Rey’s slow whisper spread like a blanket over Ben’s mind.

A radiant moonlight seem to capture Rey and outline her form beneath the chemise she wore, and Ben thought himself the most blessed sentient in the galaxy to be standing next to her. Catching the way Ben’s eyes molded over her, Rey forgot her tears and smiled when Ben extended a hand to her waist. His fingertips coveting every bit of her warmth caught in the thin cloth. Ben took an unsteady step closer before Rey accepted his other hand and drew him back into their room. Guiding Ben’s hand to the end of her clothes, Rey allowed him to drift the cover from her body. Gentle, as he always was with her, Ben’s hands played over her back, taking in a smoothness akin to glass until he reached her hair. Taking to his lips, Rey drifted closer to the bed until the still remaining warmth there met her back. Skin cooled by the night, Rey’s hand felt like embers compared to Ben’s chest and shoulders, but that didn’t stop her from running them across his body.

The smell of Rey’s hair, like she’d spent the day resting in the court’s garden among the flowers, made Ben wish he’d be able to give her a garden of her own one day. A place she and he could spend their hours setting to the soil every flower Rey wanted, anything to soften the memory of the desert. His lips found hers once more, and instead of finding pain and fear of rage there, Ben instead discovered a tumult of desperation, of grasping need, and dearest affinity. Heat like fire touched Ben’s mind, and he pulled back to gather his gaze in Rey’s. A seriousness rested on the woman’s brow while her eyes promised him that he indeed was not mistaking her feelings towards him. Love was layered, and both held uncounted surprises when it came to peeling back a new cover. Gingerly, as if he were a dead man rising from the grave once more, Rey ran a hand through his hair before using the back of her hand to caress his cheek and then lips. Ben mustered within himself what he hoped would be a response worth Rey’s touch. He molded his lips to hers, pulled her closer, and unstitched his mind allowing the woman to touch upon every aspect of his being. 


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben takes on his second task.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters belong to the mouse.

Pale blue light whispered into the small home just outside the Queen’s court, causing Rey to pull the sheets over her and Ben and damn the morning for ever thinking it time to wake the world. Breathing warmth danced between the two bodies and even turned to ceaseless heat encircling Ben’s neck when Rey embraced him there and didn’t let go. Deep inhales proclaiming the small pair of lungs to have never breathed such tender air raced in the woman. With a hidden smile, Rey realized there was no need to breathe as if she were taking Ben into her very soul; he already existed there. Nonetheless, Rey adored the soft hints the reminded her of the sky just before the rain fell. By Rey’s skin alone, Ben knew no story of hardship, nothing to tell him of her time on Jakku or of the horrid manner she was treated. His fingers brushing over Rey’s back and falling into the place her spine sat revealed little of her life under the sun; to Ben she was all glowing and to his constant delight freckled along her nose and cheeks. It was only when Ben turned to Rey’s mind did he sense and sometimes even witness for himself the woman’s life beneath Jakku’s sun. Those moments brought a withering anguish to Ben, the kind that shook his heart, woke his soul, and brushed his mind.

“Ben,” His name on her lips so close to his ear snapped him back to the present like thunder.

“I’m here with you.” Both a reminder and a promise and one Ben felt undeserving of. Rey was no longer on Jakku and had, with the aide of her own devices, freed herself from the planet. An unspoken interlace of declaration always followed the phrase, and that’s why Rey spoke it often. There was nothing that was going to separate her from him. They were in this together.

The guards did little to guide Ben and Rey into the next task as the two were now used to the rules of engagement. To Ben’s surprise, the guards were beginning to relax their hold on him. In fact, he and Rey weren’t even cuffed this time as they were loaded on a transport and carted off to the eastern coast. Joined with the others on the transport the morning unceremoniously began in silence as an exhausted Lando gazed over his wayward nephew, ensuring Ben was indeed still alive, before closing his eyes and resting his head against the transport’s wall. Finn and Rose shared a bowed head kind of conversation with near muted words and gentle nods of the head, Poe held a quiet discussion with BB-8 about the weather with C-3PO interrupting every so often with unwarranted facts. R2-D2 sat quietly next to his golden friend, only vocalizing when he had something to say. Chewie, silent at first and relaxing far from the group, rose about halfway to the destination, causing some guards to eye the Wookiee with hands ready to grab their nearest weapon. It was an unnecessary move as the Wookiee quickly took a seat next to Rey.

Gentle grows mixed with low groans spoke of Chewie’s experience with a nashtah. Venom in its jaws and nails with rows of teeth and a deadly sense of smell, the nashtah Chewie spoke of was one of normal size while the one destined to meet Ben was much larger. Chewie reminded Rey, and in an indirect manner Ben as well, that even the normal-sized nashtahs were hard to handle. In a low roar, Chewie warned that the single nashtah he took on in his youth required several blaster shots to the head before is succumb to its wounds. Rey absorbed the information before picturing the beast in her mind, but even then, it held little threat when compared to the memory of Palpatine’s face melting off his skull. With a jolt, Rey ignored the image before asking a question meant to distract. Already Rey could feel Ben slowly touching her hand, silently asking if she was okay.

“Chewie, you said they were venomous. Is their own venom lethal to them?” The question bared no fear in it, and as for the Wookiee, he went silent as he thought of an answer.

“If I may,” C-3PO began and didn’t wait for an answer. “The nashtah’s venom is of great virulence with some folklore claiming that to look upon a nashtah brought with it blindness, however, the nashtah’s greatest weapon is also its greatest threat. They are susceptible to their own venom.”

Birren’s east coast brought with it stirring winds that made the ocean white-capped and the old-time seafaring vessels appear as dancers cast just above the water but nonetheless completely subject to the breeze. The rearing sunlight rained down on the ocean turning the waves into glittering gold set against dark water, and with every pitch of a fisherman’s net, Rey almost believed them to be catching living light rather than fish. Breeze in their ears, the visitors and two prisoners wandered the grey docks in a slight daze as they watched an ancient tradition play out with every throw of the net and haul brought in by bare feet and sand beat gazes.

“Do you feel that?” Ben rumbled the question from deep in his chest. A tap in his attention drew him to the water and the darkness far below it. The others waited for Rey to answer as if somehow she’d confirm everything he was saying.

“There’s a pull,” Rey spoke with her eyelids fluttering and her attention less on the dock. Ben paused at Rey’s words and tilted his gaze over the stone dock. Some meters below where the water rushed the dock, crashed against it with fury before squelching away, there was something attempting to get Ben’s attention. His clothes beating against the wind, Ben appeared as a massive bird with the large top he wore, becoming a pair of wings. Stepping closer to the edge of the dock uncertain of how deep the water was or what lay beneath it, Ben suddenly felt younger. Maybe a teen somewhere with his uncle in the mountains of a planet he’d forced himself to forget. There he was, young Ben Solo before all the world, both light and dark, pulled him too far and he became undone. He was just a kid, standing at the edge of a mountain, staring into the unknown, and instead of being terrified, he was uplifted by the idea there was so much he hadn’t seen. Snoke’s voice hadn’t come with Ben that day, and so he allowed the beauty to move him.

A warm hand took Ben’s hand, and he came back to the present to find Rey smiling at him and the others staring on with curiosity. Brushing a loose strand of hair behind Rey’s ear, Ben nodded to himself, slightly amused by the situation. In a swift movement, Ben took off his top, handed it to Rey, and jumped from the dock. There was no sound of his body parting the water as the wind, and crashing water were much too sonorous. Falling for what seemed forever, Rey counted the seconds until Ben met the darkness. He’d disappeared before even being fully submerged. Feeling him within her, Rey sensed the cold of the water, the blinding darkness, and the tug of the current as it brought him closer to his fate. Putting Ben’s top to her face, Rey inhaled him and promised herself Ben would have something warm to come back to. 


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben faces the nashtah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters don't belong to me, they belong to the mouse.

Thick water raged in an amalgamation of churning darkness and sallow tipped waves, and through none of it, not Lando, or Chewie, or anyone could see Ben Solo. One fisherman manning his post at the end of the dock signaled to his counterpart on a nearby vessel, and so the commotion of a diving man brought with it several fishermen. One by the one, they gathered behind Rey and watched the waves. Worn hands held over their brows, the people watched and waited while others whispered their tales of the nashtah. The near serpent like beast, with teeth for days, fury for skin, venom enough to outweigh the greed in a man’s heart, and plentiful legs and claws that forced an army to rethink battle was a source of much fear for the fishermen. The stories were many, while the victories were few.

“Look!” A girl called out and pointed towards the horizon. Erupting from the water came the head of the beast, its small eyes made invisible due to the distance, but nonetheless, it raged. A terrible cough of a roar burst from the nashtah before it dived below the surface—still, no sign from Ben. For a nervous Lando he only had to glance to Rey and witness her serene gaze to know that Ben was fighting. Beneath the waves, Rey sensed the unforgiving cold of the water pressing in on Ben as he held tight to the nashtah. The nashtah weaved, dived, even boasted from the surface, but nothing it did shook Ben from its body. Rey closed her eyes and thought of herself as next to Ben. They had no lightsaber, no blaster, just the Force, and there was something absolute about that fact. No doubt, Ben would take chance after chance, not minding the danger each dare put him in, and as for Rey? She thought herself as next to him, fighting as a separate pair of hands, but with Ben in her head and Rey in his, the conversation of what move to make next would be nonexistent as they subsisted through one another.

A spark in Ben’s mind and Rey felt him make his final move, a grab for one of the nashtah’s nails. Ripping it from the base of its home, Ben plucked the nail from its owner and drew the envenomed limb across its master’s body. Rey didn’t see the blood-filled water, but she heard the crowd gasp as the nashtah roared from the waves. When Rey opened her eyes, it was to watch Ben surface, take in a deep breath, and swim for shore. The numerous fishermen rushed from the dock and towards the shore, their voices a cautious mix of joy and worry. At the winded sands of the beach, the fishermen gathered and watched as Ben broke the waves, and as he neared the shallows, a fist clung around the nashtah’s tail could be seen. Held in awe, the fishermen quieted themselves until Ben, soaked over in salt and sand, pulled the nashtah from the water. Hollers only those who’d been held in terror for too long could make, shook the beach as the fishermen rejoiced.

Many approached the dead nashtah as for all of the fishermen this was the first time they’d been able to look upon the beast without the fear it would eat them whole. Taking to their way of life, the fishermen helped Ben sever the head from the body, and as was intended, should the beast ever be killed, the nashtah was further bisected to collect the precious venom sack that when mixed appropriately could heal many ailments. From behind the gathered crowd, Ben caught sight of Rey, her smile brimming, and pride more potent than any venom.

At the Queen’s feet, the head of the nashtah rested, but yet her eyes denoted nothing of gratitude. A tight frown cut across Queen Carise’s face before she glared down at a still wet Ben Solo and the puddle of water he left. In an empty court devoid of villagers, Ben and Rey took their place before Queen Carise.

 _This is going to be harder than I thought_ , Queen Carise said to herself, before gliding her thoughts into more useful ideas. There was more she had in store for Ben solo, _so much more_. 

“And you had no help? I heard the fishermen helped you cut the nashtah’s head from its body.” The Queen questioned.

“That was after the nashtah was already dead and its body brought to shore.” The old woman, both mysterious but becoming more familiar, spoke from behind the Queen.

“I’ve spoken to several witnesses, and all of them can substantiate that Ben Solo went into the water, killed the nashtah with no aid of weapon, and brought its body back to shore.” The old woman spoke slowly, attempting to hold back the Queen’s immediate anger with her soothing voice. The Queen raised her hand and called for the beast’s head to be removed from her sight.

“You’ll be glad to know that your people, the fishermen of our eastern coast, are grateful for their Queen’s help.” Adding to this, the old woman watched as the Queen turned her back on Ben Solo and steadied her gaze on the old woman. _How long had she been a part of her court_? The Queen thought, _Too long_. Looking the old woman up and down, Queen Carise noticed her affinity for a more Naboo type hairstyle, and her dress as well was more of Naboo than any other planet.

“Well,” The Queen raised her head, satisfied she’d still be able to get the upper hand.

“Your additional tasks will be given to your protocol droid. Some of them will need to be completed off-planet, and I’ll be leaving the Resistance, specifically General Finn and General Dameron, with the task of returning you when they are complete.” The Queen waited for a rebuttal from the generals, and when none came, she shrugged it off. She’d see to it that the Resistance be made more hostile towards their ward.

“There is one more thing.” The old woman’s voice caught the Queen as she ascended the stairs to her throne.

“Ben Solo has proven more than worthy for the tasks at hand. Perhaps it is time you allow him the tools that any civilized court would deem necessary for such dangerous trials-“ The old woman began and was cut short.

“Worthy?” The word dripped from Queen Carise’s lips.

“This is the man responsible for countless war crimes. He served next to Supreme Leader Snoke and need I remind you who his grandfather is? It seems his bloodline is tainted with such a darkness as to leave an entire galaxy devoid of light. Worthy?” The Queen shook her head.

“My Queen, Ben Solo is the child of Leia Organa and Han Solo, the nephew of Luke Skywalker. They are also a part of him, and their actions alone outline a man, not a monster who bends his knee before you today. I would also add that the fishermen of your eastern coast are very moved by Ben Solo’s actions today, as well as the Twi’leks.” The Queen paused, ready to make the next move as if Ben Solo’s life were more a game than anything else.

“Very well,” Queen Carise whispered.

“You may take a single weapon.” The Queen continued her stride towards the throne, uncaring of what Ben Solo would say next. 

“I don’t want a weapon.” Ben’s hoarse answer surprised the few onlookers, but in a silent move, the man exchanged glances with Rey, who nodded her approval.

“What do you want then?” The Queen asked, her surly words unconvinced Ben Solo didn’t indeed want a weapon.

“You’ve arrested Rey along with me, and since she has no intention of leaving my side, I’d ask that you allow her to join me.” Ben Solo’s question left a permeating silence in the court.

 _The Jedi_ , for the first time Queen Carise rested her eyes on the young woman, the bent, but fiery form kneeling before her. She was young, hostile, and had yet to learn the proper composure of someone with such a power as a Jedi. Still, for Queen Carise, there was more to loathe of the woman. The Jedi held a broken pair of eyes, a set both watchful and intelligent, but also angry. Queen Carise weighed her options; if she were to allow the Jedi to join Ben Solo he would have more than just a weapon at his side, and this could mean her plans would turn to failure. It could also mean something else. It could mean that on top of getting rid of Ben Solo, Queen Carise could set the stage for the last Jedi to be destroyed as well, and with her gone, a new kind of power could rise. The allure of _more_ captured Queen Carise’s attention. There were plenty of good people in the galaxy that wanted Kylo Ren dead, but there were even more vile people who wanted the Jedi gone. If Queen Carise could accomplish both…

“I’ll allow it.” The Queen’s back to Ben and Rey, she considered the conversation done until a final voice spoke.

“Queen Carise, Rey is a symbol of hope in the galaxy, a hero to trillions, surely you won’t have her go without help of her own.” Rose’s voice struck Queen Carise’s plans, but still, the woman maintained a hollow surface. Nearing her throne, Queen Carise turned and stared down at those looking up to her.

“Who wants to join the damned and his beloved?” The Queen hissed and counted both the hands raised, and the glares shot at her as if she were on their level.

“So be it.” 


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and the others go to Jakku to complete the next trial.   
> Thank you all for your patience! Last week was so busy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own these characters, the mouse does.

Aboard the Millennium Falcon, Chewie wandered the familiar halls until he arrived at the main hold. The entire ship smelled of Rey and Ben, the past and future, and soon it would smell of Finn, Poe, Rose, Maz, Lando, and the droids as they clambered aboard with the intent to finish the trials. In a quiet groan, the Wookiee took a seat and let his head fall to his hands. A mix of exhaustion and longing clung to the Wookiee, tore at him from the inside out, and for all his worth, Chewie could do nothing more than mourn. The old Wookiee had been in his fair share of crashes and battles, had been made helpless by fate as he was plucked from great heights and sent spiraling to the ground just as he was made humble by the sight of an ensuing enemy chasing him down. Every time Chewie found a way to stay alive, and by a passing of luck, the Wookiee found the same thing for Han, and when the roles were reversed, Han never failed to bring his friend back with him.

What used to be a brilliant recollection of post-war times spent with Han, Luke, Leia, and a newborn Ben were now marred with nightmares the Wookiee could not eradicate from his mind, the most recent being of Princess Leia. A bedlam pain grasped Chewie with a hold that promised never to let go, and for the life of him, the Wookiee could not understand what losing Leia had to do with fate. What did her death bring to the table?

“Chewie?” An overwrought voice questioned. The Wookiee need not look up to know who was standing in the shadows. When Ben was younger, Chewie went out of his way to guard his thoughts or rather worries when it came to Ben while his unspoken words were filled with devotion when Ben was younger that changed as Ben grew, and Chewie took notice of the anger rising inside of Ben. The rapturing carnage that nagged in the young man’s mind almost unceasingly. Leia sensed it as a mother, Han knew of it as well as he watched his son become an island; unreachable and growing more unknown with each passing day. For Chewie, he wanted nothing more than to show Ben it was okay. It was okay to be angry. It was okay to feel unloved as long as he knew that that wasn’t the truth. It was okay to even hate a little, as long as Ben promised never to leave, but leaving came anyway no matter how badly Chewie wished it hadn’t.

Tilting his head up, Chewie swore, again and again, it was Han standing before him, but those heavy shoulders and unrestrained gaze were dead giveaways for Ben Solo. Chewie used to hide his thoughts from a younger Ben, but now things were different. Vociferous thoughts flowed from the Wookiee, and judging by the look on Ben’s face, he heard and felt every one of them. Yes, there were inklings of the past, but also the present. Chewie was done with words for now. In patience and a slightly agape mouth damning every breath that entered his lungs, Ben waited for the rush to slow.

“You don’t have to join us.” Ben began in a mustering tone that weighed something close to a rancor.

“In fact, I’d hoped you stay behind-“ The Wookiee recalled Rey and all she’d done.

“Right. You’re doing it for Rey,” Ben nodded with the realization, but there was more to the man’s thoughts, and Chewie didn’t need the Force to sense it.

“The life debt,” Ben began, and Chewie held his breath, not ready to hear Han’s name on Ben’s lips. Ben felt Chewie’s inclination and shuttered.

“I wanted to say that…no matter the time or place or reason if you find yourself in need of help, then I’ll be there.” Ben locked eyes with Chewie waiting for his response. The Wookiee’s thoughts cleared before reaching a silent understanding.

Moments later, the main hold of the Millennium Falcon was filled with the remains of a slapped-together team including Poe, Finn, Rose, Chewie, Maz, Lando, R2-D2, C-3PO, and BB-8. Most were unsure of how things would go, if they truly wanted to be here, or even if they should, but regardless all it took was a short glance to Rey to find a reason. If the only Jedi in the galaxy were willing to stand by Ben Solo, then certainly there was a reason for others to as well. Wobbling close to the table, C-3PO activated a hologram, a long list of trials intended to be completed by Ben, and at the top was a single name, _The Boar_. 

“Queen Carise has entrusted me with the trials intended for Master Ben.” C-3PO’s voice warbled a bit at the confession, unsure of what terrified him more, the Queen, or the list.

“The next trial is to hunt down The Boar. A deadly bounty hunter who has served the Queen for several years.” The hologram changed to show a blurred image of The Boar. He was old, and with a hood blocking most of his face, it was hard to tell what exactly he looked like, but the notched belt around his waist told of many successes.

“I know him,” Rey whispered, transfixed by the hologram. Her voice near serene, but touching on hostile with every passing moment, the rest of the crew waited for a follow-up. Next to Rey, Ben straightened himself as her memory bled into his.

“You saw him on Yavin 4.” It wasn’t a question, and for some of the crew, it was like watching a single person speak when Rey and Ben did this. 

“He _really_ doesn’t like you or anyone who can use the Force.” Arms crossed, Rey looked away from the image beginning to dislike the sour taste it put in her mouth.

“Well, that’s good to know.” Poe huffed and bent close to the image.

“Why does Queen Carise want this guy?” Poe asked.

“Apparently, he stole from the royal archive.” C-3PO offered, but even he didn’t believe that story.

“Right. You mean he knows something, and Queen Carise wants him dead.” Finn shook his head. They’re no better than bounty hunters themselves at this point.

“Dead or alive,” The droid reminded Finn.

“Where is he?” Finn asked, already frustrated with the mission. C-3PO went silent at the question, and if it were possible, a look of dread crossed the droid’s face.

“Well, he was last seen on…” C-3PO began but wasn’t able to continue.

“Threepio, just spit it out,” Finn said, but it wasn’t C-3PO who fulfilled the order, instead BB-8, the one who had personal experience with the location in question and knew how much Finn hated it, answered in a dull beep. 

“Jakku!” Finn asked, but didn’t want it confirmed as he threw his hands in the air and prepared to leave only to turn around on his heel muttering under his breath “Why does everyone want to go back to Jakku?”

“What’s wrong with Jakku?” Rose asked. The young woman understood why Rey might not want to return, but Finn? Bent so that their eyes could meet, Finn raised finger after finger while he named off the sins of Jakku.

“It’s hot, there’s no water, there’s quicksand…everywhere-“ Finn spread his arms out as if he were surrounded by swallowing sand at that moment.

“There’s isn’t quicksand everywhere.” Rey corrected, but Finn continued regardless.

“The locals hate visitors, it’s hot-“

“You said that one already.” Rose interrupted.

“It’s very hot,” Finn confirmed and locked eyes with Rey.

“And the locals are rude.”

“Rude? Are you talking about me?” Rey stood straight as she left the wall she’d been leaning on.

“I still have a small knot on me from where you hit me with your staff.” Finn’s voice turned accusatory while Poe bowed his head. This was going to be a long trip.

“You shouldn’t have given me a reason to hit you then.”

“Okay!” Poe stepped between the two.

“We’re going to Jakku. Niima Outpost, right? Someone, there should know where this Boar is?” Poe turned to Rey, who nodded.

“I can think of someone who might know,” Rey confirmed.

Sunset molded Niima Outpost as a dark smear against the desert, a break in the unending sand, and one that would have held a glimmer if it weren’t for the layer of dust that settled on everything. A heat quickly dissipating into a breezy cold that came with the night entered the outpost as Rey landed the Falcon. Staring outside the window, Rey’s immediate reaction was to hold off the flood of memories racing for her soul. Thoughts of hunger filled nights, a scourge in the form of cutting lonesomeness, nightmares dotted with the blurred faces of her mother and father, an owner who paid no mind to her suffering, and then those dreams mixed nightmares, ones of a shadowy figure and a voice.

A twitch of a touch rested against Rey’s hand as she went to level the Falcon. From the outside, the gesture would have been viewed as an accident, but Rey knew better. Ben, in a secrecy meant only for Rey, both confirmed her feelings even after all this time and pledged himself as a guardian of her past if she found herself in need of one. Should Rey choose this mission not to be worth the hostile rearing of her past, then all she need do is glance at Ben, and they’d leave, trial be damned. In the cockpit with Poe, Chewie, and Finn present a weight akin to a storm passed between Rey and Ben, and no one but the dyad noticed. The slightest turning of Rey’s lips was all Ben needed. Rey was a fighter, and her past would not win this round.

“Alright, I think Rey and Finn should be the ones to go in. If they see us all, they’ll spook.” Poe planned out loud while Rey draped a scarf over her head, and Finn donned an old helmet, anything to better conceal who they were.

“Before I forget.” Finn handed Rey her lightsaber, but the woman didn’t take it at first, instead she stared at the item. Nodding to herself, the woman shook away the feeling of dread and accepted her lightsaber. 

“We’ll be back soon,” Finn mentioned as he followed Rey outside the Falcon with the watchful eyes of Ben and the others mapping their every move.

Rey realized she could have walked into Niima Outpost with no sense of the world, and she’d still be able to find the junkyard manned by Unkar Plutt. With soft sand preventing every move towards the damned outpost, Rey counted in her head the steps from the entrance to the junkyard. It was a game from when she was younger, something she did to distract from the heavy load in her arms, and the aching in her chest. Now was a bit different, the heavy load was the Force, and the ache in her chest came in the form of a man who gravitated himself with her ardor. Both painful and blissful, the ache kept Rey warm against Jakku’s evening and centered her against the many memories chasing her consciousness. The smell of dirty water, rancid meat, and oil met Rey’s nose; the scent of _home_ and even then the only reason she held back a gag had more to do with the sight of Unkar and less to do with the smell.

“There he is,” Rey mumbled of the hulk who sat at a broken table, Sabacc cards in hand, with a few others gathered. A lantern at the center of the table touched on Unkar’s face making him appear as a monster set aflame. Without noticing, Rey reached for her lightsaber, and when the cold metal met her hand, she snapped back to attention. _What was she thinking_? Seeing the approach of two unknowns, Unkar pulled from his body a blaster while the others gathered with him, copied the action, and pointed their weapons at Rey and Finn.

“You see, rude to visitors?” Finn mumbled confidently from behind his mask. Together Finn and Rey raised their hands while they approached.

“What’s this, then?” Unkar didn’t come to his feet, but did reverse the aim of his blaster to the droid sitting next to him, the one attempting to glance at his cards in the middle of the confusion. 

“We didn’t come here for trouble.” The moment Rey’s voice answered Unkar, the junkyard proprietor came to his feet, his small eyes squinting to get a better look at the covered woman.

“Rey?” Unkar asked the air, but received no answer.

“We’ll be out of here soon.” Rey’s voice turned calm as she approached Unkar.

“Soon?” Unkar growled. “What do you mean? You’ll be out of here _soon_?” Unkar’s voice trudged toward violence as the others around his table stood up, but Rey didn’t slow her pace as she approached Unkar.

“Where have you been? You belong to me!” Unkar growled, and Rey reacted with nothing more than a raised hand.

“You’ll tell me where to find The Boar.” Rey’s voice floated through the air like a breeze. Unkar shuttered and from within bit at the idea of answering to Rey. Regrouping, Rey tried again.

“Where is The Boar?” Rey asked, and Unkar’s face relaxed, he lowered his weapon, and to the amazement of those around him, he answered.

“The Boar? You can find him at Ergel's Bar.” Unkar’s words made him sound as if he were half-asleep.

“You search for The Boar?” A droid at the table asked. With a missing arm and half the metal on his body stripped, the protocol droid laughed at the idea of a couple of visitors taking on The Boar by themselves.

“We are.” Rey didn’t take her eyes off Unkar but lowered her hand. The droid laughed again, and this time a few others joined in.

“You mean to capture him?” The droid probed and when Rey didn’t answer, the droid took it as an affirmation.

“There’s only one way to get The Boar.” The droid offered and leaned back in his seat.

“And what’s that?” Rey asked. 

“Let me guess that advice will cost us?” Finn was ready to walk away, convinced the droid was lying.

“No, it won’t. I’m a betting droid. I know the odds of beating The Boar, and those odds are going to make me a very rich droid.”

“The Boar, he’s a tricky one. Wanted in twenty-five systems. Likes to drink…a lot.” The droid’s voice turned to a tick. It wasn’t often he spoke this much and doing so wore at his gears.

“You’re point?” Finn asked.

“When you find him, challenge him to a drinking game. The Boar can’t say no to a drinking game. And if you win…I’m sure he’ll go just about anywhere you want.” The droid cackled at the admission. 

“Why are you helping us?” Rey questioned, unsure of what the droid truly got out of all this. 

“What little you know. You make nothing betting for only one side. I intend to make my dues no matter who wins.” Still, Rey didn’t believe the droid. 

It was Finn who communicated to the team where to find The Boar, and as Chewie and Lando prepared the Falcon to make the short journey to Cratertown, Maz shared what she knew of the old bar.

“I know the owner of Ergel’s. He won’t be happy to have our kind in there.” Maz’s warning brought with it confused glances.

“Resistance Fighters. The owner hates the Resistance almost as much as he hates the First Order. He’ll sniff us out before we enter the place. I think it’s best if Rey goes in there. She’s the only one Jakku enough to get away with it.” The idea spread through the main hold with Ben’s mind twisting more and more towards uncertainty. Even as Rey entered Niima outpost, the man could sense the riveting pain tearing at Rey from the inside out. The sooner they got off this rock, the better.

“The droid back at the junkyard said the best way to get The Boar was to challenge him to a drinking game,” Finn spoke with his eyes planted on his friend. He worried for her despite the fact Rey didn’t let on to the others her discomfort with drinking. “Rey, it’ll just be a few drinks. The Boar can’t possibly out drink a Jedi.” Poe offered but was ignored as Rey tilted her attention to Ben. Ben didn’t want this. He was so far from wanting this that it turned his blood boiling. He’d rip into Ergel’s Bar and pull The Boar out by his neck and be done with it.

“No,” Rey whispered, and a discomfort reached the others as they realized they were witness to a very personal conversation between Ben and Rey.

“I’ll do it, Ben. I can do it.” Rey’s voice touched his ears, but still, the man refused.

“No.” The single word might as well have been an entire speech. Ben’s rumble shook those around him, and for a moment, Poe’s hand itched for its blaster. An old habit. 

“Ben, it’s her choice. She’s trying to help you.” Poe came to his feet, waiting for Ben’s gaze to fall on him, but Ben hadn’t even blinked yet. His unnerving gaze remained on Rey making Poe wonder what lover’s quarrel was going on between the two.

“We don’t have time for this.” Poe began.

“Who knows how long The Boar will be here. We need to act, and we need to act now.” Finally, Ben looked away from Rey and glanced towards Poe, a twitch in Ben’s eyes roaring volumes for the man who spoke so little.

“Look, Ben, I know you’ve fought Rey before, I know you know how powerful she is. She’ll be fine. This will be easy for her.” Poe’s memory flashed with thoughts of Rey fighting beast’s several times her size, taking on armies sent by Kylo Ren, and through it all, she claimed victory. Ben said nothing to the General’s grave misunderstanding of what ‘easy’ was for Rey. A single nod from Ben only noted his willingness not to voice further complaints, but within his own mind, Ben continued the conversation with Rey. While the Falcon made its way to Cratertown, the two sat across from each other at the table and held a back and forth not capsulated in misunderstanding, but sincerity. Nothing harsher than a Naboo breeze passed from Ben to Rey and back. The two were at a standstill with Ben wanting to enter the bar and make quick work with this trial, and Rey wanting to go about it more steadfastly, a way that would ensure they captured The Boar.

As the Falcon landed just outside Cratertown, Rey didn’t notice the Falcon jolt to a stop as she remained mind locked with Ben.

“Rey?” Finn’s voice ruptured the conversation. The world outside her mind seemed dark now, and Rey thought it had little to do with the long gone sun.

“Yeah.” Rey wore a face of determination as she got to her feet, but before she left, a hand lifted hers from her side, and Rey looked back to find Ben still seated at the table, his gaze imbued with final entreat. Rey squeezed Ben’s fingers, unconcerned with the sideways glance Poe, Finn, and Rose offered them. Those two really did live in a world all their own. Rey escaped into the darkness, her gaze set on the yolk light of the bar as she crossed the unforgiving sands to get there. 


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Content warning: I'm unsure if this needs a warning, but better to be safe than sorry. Rey gets her drink poisoned in this chapter and while it's not posed as a scenario where she's about to be sexually assaulted or anything like that, I just wanted to include the warning just in case anyone is sensitive to that kind of content. 
> 
> Rey meets The Boar and the others fight Unkar.

Content warning: I'm unsure if this needs a warning, but better to be safe than sorry. Rey gets her drink poisoned in this chapter and while it's not posed as a scenario where she's about to be sexually assaulted or anything like that, I just wanted to include the warning just in case anyone is sensitive to that kind of content. 

Ergel’s Bar oozed a kind of stale air that collected with the drinks and patrons and birthed a rarified stench that twisted Rey’s stomach. Dimly light and purposefully dark in some places to conceal illegal acts, the bar housed more empty seats than occupants giving Rey little crowd to hide within. Cratertown wasn’t exactly a booming metropolis with plenty of unfamiliar faces to hide behind, but Rey had a knack for being unseen when it mattered. Approaching the bar, Rey kept herself hidden as she tapped the table once and paid no mind to the Ithorian preparing her drink. It was something she’d seen Poe do, an unspoken action that always signaled the immediate arrival of a beverage, and Rey hoped it would work as she had no idea what to order should the bartender ask. In a practiced manner, Rey casted her gaze from the table in front of her to the tables lining the walls and then to the open second level above her that housed another dozen or so seating arrangements. A group of vocal Biths, a single Falleen guzzling her drink, an Iridonian and his constituents, a few humans, and then…

“There he is,” Rey spoke to herself as she eyed the second level, the empty table save for a single, robed human who sat with his back to the entrance. _Bold move_ , Rey thought. Feeling the drink the bartender slid down the table touch the back of her hand, Rey glanced at the dirty calyx filled with a dark liquid that smelled too much like a concentrated version of the bar. Taking the cup with her, Rey found the stairs and ascended to the level above where she made her way to The Boar. Pretending not to notice the well-armed Kaleesh that eyed her, Rey methodically approached The Boar from behind, making sure that her feet didn’t carry with them the commonplace silence she was so used to practicing. She made just enough noise to make her presence known, while she pulled the scarf close to her face and checked her pockets one last time to ensure she had everything she needed. If The Boar could hear her, he didn’t show it, and as Rey took the booth across from him, she took note of the several bottles left empty around him.

A shrill ran through Rey, like standing over quicksand just as the realization hits that the earth is trying to consume you. The Boar paid Rey no mind as he busied himself with the pieces of his dismantled weapon, taking care to clean each section until the blackness of continued firing was washed over and left a threatening silver. Arms out and on the table, Rey wanted to build some trust with the bounty hunter before she enticed him to a game. The man appeared as any other old man that might frequent a small-town bar, but the longer Rey searched him, the more The Boar showed his true colors. Skin wrinkled like dried fruit only spoke of purposeful linear scars across his cheeks, and around his neck once Rey looked long and hard enough. A cloudy right eye with a green shine to it told Rey of The Boar’s ingenuity. He’d been blinded once, and as an act of revenge, he hunted down the droid responsible and plucked the droid’s eye out only to repurpose the eye as his own.

“Do you clean your weapons often?” The Boar’s voice spoke slow and so very, very precise.

“I do,” Rey answered, and as The Boar locked eyes with her he swiveled a piece of his weapon in place with a single, swift flick of his wrist. The gruesome snap sounded too much like a neck being broken. _This man_ , Rey came to realize, _was death in his every action_. The Force, humming as it was, chilled Rey with a warning even as she continued to converse with the old man.

“Strange thing about a weapon.” The Boar spoke so slowly it made Rey wonder what he was thinking about between each word, what he was planning, and what he was capable of. 

“True weapons only work for those they respect. Just like your lightsaber.” The Boar wasn’t looking at Rey when he made the soft accusation he just continued to reassemble his weapon one morose piece at a time. 

“I know who you are, and I know what you’re doing here. I’ll make it easy for you, Rey of Jakku. In fact, I’ve already given you a head start.” The old man gestured to the many empty bottles at the table and the lingering smell of something pinching in the air.

“If you, Jedi, can out drink me, then I’ll gladly go with you.” The Boar’s voice dropped to a deadly silence. He waited as he was so well trained to do, and he found that Rey was accustomed to the same unnerving practice. Her answer came in the form of a more relaxed composure. From his seat, The Boar yelled for a bottomless Port In A Storm to be brought to his table.

“I thought you Jedi were more humble than this.” The Boar commented, and when Rey offered no answer, he probed again.

“It’s rude to begin a bet when the final deal isn’t made. I can tell you’re not used to drinking and probably not used to making deals with ruffians, so I’ll forgive you.” The Boar fitted his weapon with its final piece and then left it on the table with the barrel pointed towards Rey. Leaning over the table, hands planted firmly so that Rey could see his every scar from every bounty who dare test his cunning, The Boar locked eyes with Rey and whispered.

“If I out drink you, then you have to show me where Ben Solo is hiding.” The Boar’s voice was all too thrilled even as it spoke like a leak, one steady drop at a time. Fury touched Rey’s thoughts. It wasn’t that The Boar knew Ben Solo was alive; it was that when The Boar’s eyes floated across Rey they held some sick knowledge. Somehow The Boar knew, when he spoke to Rey, Ben Solo would get the message immediately. A privacy so essential to their relationship was suddenly being imposed upon by a wretched excuse for a human, and, at that moment, Rey wanted to reach for her lightsaber. A deep breath through gritted teeth calmed the Jedi as she watched the bartender place a massive vase of Port In A Storm between her and The Boar along with two small, calyxes.

“You’re all the same.” The Boar mumbled.

“Kylo Ren, Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, all the same. Too much power just freely given while mine was honed, and practiced, and sacrificed for, and killed for, and maned for.” The Boar poured the drink, one for himself and one for Rey. Tipping his cup back, The Boar sucked it down without a single blink to his eyes.

“But yet you kill and spread your darkness just as much as they did.” Rey tilted her cup back, and before the acidic liquid touched her lips, it flooded her senses with spikes of incoherent waves of nausea.

“How do you think she’s doing in there?” Finn’s question came in the middle of a conversation, one bounced between Lando, Poe, and Rose as they discussed a nearby downed Imperial Star Destroyer and the likelihood of locating some much needed parts. Finn was listening to the conversation, prepared to jump in with the affirmative, with a gut instinct telling him to go the Star Destroyer and recover from it something they needed. However, just before Finn prepared himself to speak, he glanced at Ben and witnessed a man who was only present in the physical sense. Those dark eyes, so often seen from across the battlefield, mulled with stirrings that annoyed Finn. How was it that the ex- Supreme Leader of the First Order knew more about Rey than her best friend? It was impossible, but even as Finn observed Ben, he couldn’t deny the etchings of Rey all over him. Finn, up until meeting Ben as he was now, had only seen a single side of Ben and Rey’s relationship, and that came in the form of Rey utilizing fighting techniques only seen with Kylo Ren. Still, whatever was going on between the two wasn’t one-sided. Ben held a hopeful glow in his eyes, albeit dimmed at times, but for Finn there was no doubt over who put that hope there.

When Ben realized the outside world was asking him a question, he glanced up from his spot behind the table to find several pairs of eyes on him. Poe’s gaze always circled distrust and cooling anger, Chewie’s was all muddled and silent, Rose’s held understanding, Lando’s held pity, and so on, but Finn’s glimmered with something else. A softening detest, Finn was beginning to see Ben Solo, but that’s where it ended for now, with open eyes. Ben thought about a one-worded answer, something to say, but not completely reveal. It was an old habit from his youth and one he recognized needed to change.

“She’s on edge. I think The Boar has company with him. She’s also angry.” Ben didn’t lock his eyes with anyone. It had been a long time since he’d spoken to someone other than Rey without demand in his voice. Finn leaned across the table, trying to understand what could only be felt.

“How do you do it?” Finn didn’t care if the question was a private one. If Ben could handle the battlefield, he could handle a little discomfort. Finn reached a finger to his head and tapped.

“Can you read her mind? Can she read yours? Can you read ours?” Ben looked up, his dark eyes made even more vexed by the Falcon’s dimmed lights. A shudder ran through Finn, chased up and down his body, and his head began to throb lightly. That was Ben’s answer. Finn didn’t give. Finn’s gaze remained locked with Ben as he allowed Ben to see the many memories he had with Rey before showing Ben those short memories on Takodana when Rey was kidnapped, on Starkiller base, on Crait, and then on Kef Bir. Those glowing lightabers, piercing red-orange clashing with electrifying blue. Ben didn’t blink, he took in Finn’s memories like he did the trials. Like he did anything else that would come to him as a result of his actions.

“That’s what I thought,” Finn said.

 _This isn’t what Rey wants_. _She doesn’t want us to fight_. Ben thought to himself. 

“You’re frustrated with me. Rey kept things from you, from everyone, and those same things are not secret to me. I know her pain, and she knows mine. I’m sorry that’s frustrating for you.”

“I doubt that, buddy. Rey grew up alone on a desert planet. You had a mother and a father who loved you. Her pain could not be avoided, and yours is a byproduct of your choices.” Poe didn’t offer Ben his gaze when he spoke, instead, he looked off somewhere, already annoyed with the conversation. The jab hurt, and as the familiar flood of fiery misunderstanding entered Ben’s mind, he found it not to be as it once was. The flood was nothing compared to what he shared with Rey. Ben let the comment go, unperturbed. 

“Is Rey happy?” Rose’s tone ruptured the mood, smoothing it out to show that both sides of the table cared very much about Rey. Ben leaned back with an exhale, and when recalls of him and Rey back on the homestead touched his memory, when thoughts of them dancing in the cell, and sharing their fears came to mind, a gentle turn to his lips revealed itself. Ben was sure Rey still had that petal from a flower he’d stolen for her from the Queen’s garden.

“Rey loves all of you more than any of you will ever know.”

“But she’s in love with you.” Maz’s prophetic voice pierced from Lando’s side as she leaned forward from the crate she was sitting on to smile at Ben Solo. Saying it aloud spread the idea in a way no one could accept with their eyes alone. Ben opened his mouth to speak, but no words reached his tongue. Sensing the mild disgust, confusion, and internal rhetoric of those around him, Ben shrugged the idea that any of them would ever understand. There wasn’t enough time in the universe to allow for it, but he could explain. 

“The first voice I remember wasn’t that of my mother or father, it was of Snoke. His voice, clear as day in my head, was with me until his death.” At the confession, Chewie glanced up from his seat for the first time. He’d never known.

“I died on Exegol, and when I came back, the first voice I heard was Rey’s.” Ben gritted his teeth at the thought of his next words.

“If living with Snoke in my head was the recompense needed to hear Rey, even once, then it was worth it.”

A proximity siren broke the confession, and the further scurry of Chewie and Poe to the cockpit ended the current conversation.

“We have company,” Poe announced, running back to the main hold, his weapon unholstered and ready.

“It’s that Unkar fellow and a few of his friends.”

“How many?” Finn asked.

“They outnumber us,” Poe said as he hurried for the exit. One by one, the group, while hiding behind the bulk of the Falcon, scoped the dark horizon for intruders.

“I see them,” Finn confirmed with a pair of macrobinoculars in his hand that he passed to Poe. Poe pulled the marcobinoculars from his face, a steep concern reaching his already very tired eyes.

“Chewie, Lando, get inside the Falcon. Take it to the atmosphere and wait there.”

“What is it?” Rose asked.

“They have a mounted blaster with them.”

“A mounted blaster!” C-3PO’s shrill voice was almost enough for the oncoming enemy to hear.

“BB-8, you’re with me. Threepio, Artoo, go with Chewie.”

“We can’t do that! Chewie so much as ignites the Falcon, and that thing starts firing, and we don’t have enough time to enable the Falcon’s shields.” Rose countered. Looking back to the Falcon, Poe hoped Unkar didn’t have any more tricks up his sleeve as the old ship had little patience with the unanticipated. Rose was right, it was best to leave the Falcon where it was. 

“What about Rey?” Finn asked, and Poe was prepared to answer but bit back his words in favor of looking to Ben.

“It’s best if one of us goes to her. Wait outside the bar.” Ben’s answer was intended for Finn, who shared a glance with Poe before running for the entrance to Cratertown.

“What’s the plan?” Ben’s question came with the sound of the others organizing themselves behind him. Chewie with his bowcaster, Lando with his blaster pistol, Rose with a sniper, Maz with her grenades, and so on. Poe took a final look at the night horizon and the little light from above that showed the outline of Unkar Plutt, his cronies, and their intimidating array of weapons. 

Rey’s head might as well have been formed from the sludge at the bottom of garbage chute for all the help it brought her. Crumbling thoughts entered the woman’s mind, but before she could act on them, it was time to tilt back another cup of the oily drink. From the back of Rey’s mouth, down her throat, and into her stomach, all was a painstaking fire that gulped at her every move. Still, The Boar sat unmoved by the many drinks he’d consumed. Clenching her teeth, Rey chewed at the liquid in her mouth, wishing it the enemy so that at least she could do some damage.

“You’re stronger than I thought, Rey of Jakku.” With the pressure of a near belly worth of liquid in her stomach, The Boar’s usual slow words now sounded even more sluggish to Rey.

 _Why does he have to talk_ , Rey thought. It was one thing to drink. Why did talking have to be involved?

“You’re beginning to make quite the name for yourself.” The Boar oozed his words out one by one.

“In fact, I bet your name is right on up there with Luke Skywalker. Tell me, who is your family, Rey of Jakku?” The Boar sipped at his drink like it was sweetened bone broth and delicious before he flipped the drink down his throat with ease. With measured grace, The Boar dipped more of the Port In A Storm into Rey’s cup, but as she reached for it, he grabbed her hand. The gesture was almost met with a quick push from Rey, something that would have been enough to force The Boar through his seat, but Rey paused at the thought. The Boar leaned over the table until he was inches from Rey’s face.

“Do you even know your mother’s name?” The Boar’s voice made even the deadliest disease seem like a reprieve. Rey pulled her hand from The Boar’s and grasped her drink, before slamming it back with a vengeance. This time things were different. The liquid wasn’t as fiery as before, almost dull. The moment it touched Rey’s tongue, she heard a voice spiraling from the back of her head. A woman’s voice. Not a cry or rushed promised, but a tone swathed in calmness. 

_Rey_? The voice called like a dream.

 _Rey_? The voice changed tones, becoming more burgeoning. Rey realized the voice was her mother’s from so long ago. _From a memory_? Like listening in on a conversation she wasn’t supposed to know about, Rey heard the back and forth between her mother and someone else.

 _That bloodline is full of darkness and death. A single drop of it in the wrong person would mean certain annihilation to the galaxy,_ an angry voice accused.

 _She’s just a child. What can she possibly do that is so evil_? Rey’s mother countered the voice. 

_It would have been better to give birth to a nothing, then to that child,_ the voice grew angrier, and as it did a lacerating pain tore at Rey’s mind and from the cuts poured memories. Oily memories that clung to every thought and burned with every passing moment. Rey came to her feet with the world around her attempting to throw her from orbit. Biting back the gathering pain, Rey reached into her pocket before she fell against The Boar, who prepared to fight by grabbing for his weapon, but the Jedi was too much for him. Finding her feet once more, Rey ran for the exit as a building shadow in her mind threatened to break loose and chase her down.

“Are you sure you know how to negotiate? Because every time I’ve seen you ‘negotiate,’ it ends in destruction for both sides.” Poe half-ran next to Ben to keep up as the two approached the oncoming threat with hands raised.

“Just follow my lead, Poe.” Ben offered but knew such a request was like asking the sun not to rise.

“You can stop there!” Unkar’s voice boomed from the darkness. From where Ben stood, he counted two dozen or so of Unkar’s underlings with blasters ready. Unkar’s slapped together group was on edge, some high on spice, and others just looking for a fight to pass the time. The mounted blaster rolled seamlessly over the sand at the command of one of the cronies who sat just behind the blaster’s controls. Eyes planted on the machine, Poe waited for Ben to speak.

“We don’t want any trouble.” Ben threaded his voice with power, with a will that strongly outweighed that of the thugs.

“No trouble? Then I’ll be taking my property back. The Falcon and _the girl_.” At the mention of Rey, Ben lowered his hands and drew the full mass of his attention on Unkar Plutt. Not much of a threat by the looks of him, the Crolute boasted of little physical power compared to Ben, but then again, power didn’t always have to do with physicality. At Ben’s ears, almost like a whisper from somewhere in the darkness, the man heard a cry, a whimper from a child. Unkar’s brief mention of Rey brought with it the thug’s memory of a young Rey crying, her hunger a new thing to deal with, and for it, Unkar offered nothing but a severe command to keep working. Lowering his head, Ben shifted from just a man to someone the shadows of the desert gathered around willingly. A hush ran over the jeering cronies before Ben collected enough of himself to speak.

“Poe?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re going to run back to the ship.” Ben’s eerily calm voice reminded Poe of Rey’s voice when she tricked the minds of unsuspecting Stormtroopers.

“Are you trying to trick me?” Poe tilted his head toward Ben and whispered.

“Poe?”

“Yeah!” A growing urge to know what Ben’s plan was annoyed Poe, but he got the hint as Ben raised his hand, palm facing the cronies, and eyes set for battle.

“Run.” And as Ben dropped the final warning to Poe, one of Unkar’s followers, a Dug, went flying high above the others, into the night sky with only his surprised scream a sign that indeed it was not of his own accord. Poe took off running while the man behind the blaster started firing. Immediately the night sky was pierced with the red lacerations of blaster fire as it raced for the Falcon signaling to the others back at the Falcon that a fight was inevitable. As Ben guessed, Unkar took to the rear of his cronies, putting a dozen or so men between him and Ben. No matter, Ben rushed the crowd as they tried in vain to aim their blasters at the man. A punch to one man’s face and a swift kick to another’s, Ben started the fight and heard Chewie’s roar as the others entered the dispute. A Twi’lek with a blaster pointed at Ben’s face was soon pulled into Ben’s awaiting fist, and with a hard thud, the Twi’lek was prone and out for the fight.

Looking over his shoulder, Ben witnessed the Falcon taking on its second hit from the mounted blaster. Slowly the mounted blaster rolled towards the stationary Falcon with the man operating it swiveling the blaster’s aim back to the ensuing squabble to send warning shots. With each blaster shot, the ground around Ben shook as a wave of sand was thrown into the air and rained down on the fight. A man at Ben’s back with his arm wrapped tightly around his neck and another attempting to bury a knife in his chest, Ben inhaled deeply, but before he could send both men flying into the darkness, a shot rang from behind a near dune. It was Rose with the sniper blaster. She’d taken out the man with the knife from some fifteen meters away. The man at Ben’s back, having seen his counterpart taken out swiftly, attempted to let go of Ben’s neck only to have the action met with Ben pulling the man over his head and slamming him to the ground. 

“Ben, we need to get that mounted blaster!” Poe called.

“Really?” Ben muttered under his breath. At the time, the mounted blaster was pointed away from Ben and toward the Falcon, but soon enough, the man made his timely swivel back to the others only to find Ben approaching with increasing speed. The first shot left the weapon, but did nothing to stop Ben as it seemed to evaporate before it touched him. Waves of crimson turned magenta wafted by Ben as the energy from the shot dissipated into the night sky. The man, confused and quickly becoming irritated, shot again and again until the sight of Ben was fogged over in the blaster’s venting smoke. He had to have hit him now. The smoke cleared, and the man found Ben standing with the half dozen or so shots suspended in mid-air. Ben cocked his head before he reversed the fire back at the offending machine. Turning back to the battle, Ben sought his original target with vengeance. Unkar stood at the edge of the fight, his blaster blaring with multiple shots that hit nothing but sand.

Ben fixed his gaze on the owner, on the trader, and no good piece of trash. With Ben’s hand reached out, it was as if Unkar sensed his coming doom. Quickly Unkar spun and began shooting at Ben, but those shots were easily deflected. A gurgle left Unkar’s throat as he dropped his weapon and slowly levitated off the ground. Unkar reached for his throat while his eyes pleaded with Ben. The fight was over with most of the thugs giving up and running off into the night, but it would be so easy not to allow Unkar that same gift. An inkling of disappointment caught Ben’s attention. With Unkar held above the sand and his lungs begging for air, Ben looked to his side to find Poe, Chewie, Rose, Lando, and BB-8 staring at him. A mix of half-expectation and even slight _sadness_ touched at the edges of their gazes. Perhaps to them, there really was no changing Ben Solo. A gentle tap at his hand and Ben looked down to find Maz pulling at his free hand.

“Come on, Ben. Let him go.” Ben glared back to Unkar. It would be so easy.

In a quick movement, Ben let go of his hold and allowed Unkar to fall to the ground, somewhat harmed, but not dead. Dropping to his knees, Ben trembled at the darkness rearing inside of him. Gasping for breath, Ben watched Unkar reach his feet and run away, far away. It would be in his best interest that he and Ben never meet again.

At the entrance to Ergel’s Bar, Finn only need to wait for a moment before watching Rey, her eyes filled with dizzying horror, race from the bar, and into the darkness. Unsure of what to do, Finn called to his friend only to have her run faster as if pursued by unseen forces. Every plummet of Rey’s foot to the sand brought shocks of upturning nausea and sallow unease. Brain on fire, stomach lurching, Rey fought the urge to vomit as she ran from the growing army of shadows behind her. The many screaming voices that promised something worse. Feeling like a child once more, Rey lost an urge to fight those many shadows as she raced down a Cratertown service road cut between many connected, mostly abandoned homesteads.

 _A small place, a very small place to hid_ , Rey told herself as she glanced back and forth, but then a voice, _his voice_ , filled Rey with an unfathomable cold. 

_Rey_ , the voice summoned Rey, as if she had no choice but to respond. Bile reached Rey’s mouth as she rolled into an unused hole in the wall, but one with a door. Shutting the door behind her, Rey raced for the corner. Tucking herself up, she dared not open her eyes.

Outside, Finn caught sight of the small entryway Rey entered and stopping at the old, rusted door he tried to activate the door, and when that didn’t work, Finn tried to pry the door open. Worry entered the man’s voice as he rang out her name over and over, praying for a response.

“Rey? Rey, what happened? Are you hurt?” But no answer came. Biting his lip, Finn hopelessly tried to pry the door open again, but only managed to crack it open a sliver. 

“Something’s wrong with Rey,” Finn called over his comlink.

Outside of Cratertown, among the fiery remains of Unkar’s prized mounted blaster, the team collected themselves. All this commotion was no good and if The Boar wasn’t suspicious before he would be now. Surveying the damage to the Falcon, Chewie, and Poe quickly put out the fire as Rose and Lando gathered supplies from the ship’s hold. With BB-8 suppressing the electrical fires, Poe attempted the same with a small, grossly expired extinguisher. A series of growls was enough to distract Poe from stubborn leftover flames that put up a more demanding fight against the extinguisher.

“What’s that, Chewie?” The General called out, and Wookiee repeated himself, this time with more insistence.

“Yeah, I got it.” Poe removed the comlink from his pocket only to catch the tail end of Finn’s message. A cold ran through Poe before he thought to look from his work.

“Come on, Chewie. I think Rey’s in trouble.” Already a step ahead, the Wookiee grabbed his bowcaster and joined Poe. Knocking loudly on the side of the Falcon, Poe managed to get Rose’s attention.

“Rose, come with us. Something’s wrong with Rey.”

“What about us?” C-3PO asked from the boarding ramp before Poe could disappear into the darkness.

“You, Artoo, Lando, Maz, stay here. I want this ship ready to go as soon as possible.”

Catching up with Chewie as he entered Cratertown, Poe hollered through his comlink for Finn’s whereabouts only to have Chewie interrupt with a bellowing roar. The Wookiee’s sense of smell had already picked up on Finn and Rey, and more recently, Ben.

“Ben?” Poe looked around. In the time it took for Poe and the others to ascertain the Falcon’s damage, Ben had already sensed and reacted to Rey’s distress.

“We’re going to have to work on his communication skills,” Poe mumbled as Chewie lead him down a dead-end service road. Darkened with most of the homes empty and pillaged, the small road held a single shadow at the end, Finn.

“Finn!” Reaching his friend’s side, Poe faced the same direction as Finn. The door once unable to be opened was now agape, and beyond the threshold, only darkness waited.

“What is it? Finn, where’s Rey?” Rose asked, prepared to enter the darkest home on the street. An answer came when Ben exited the darkness with Rey in his arms, her head buried in his chest, and shaking so frantically it was hard for her to encircle her arms around Ben’s neck.

“Rey?” Finn’s voice, quiet as the night questioned his friend, but not a single word slipped from her mouth instead, Finn heard the chatter of her teeth as if she were freezing to death.

Aboard the Millennium Falcon, Ben carried a nearly unconscious Rey pass the concerned gazes of Lando and Maz, who’d ceased their work. Down the hallway and to the captain’s quarters, Ben entered the room and attempted to lay Rey on the bed, but the woman, fierce in her strength, refused to let go. Pulling her closer, Ben slid to the ground and cradled Rey, who had yet to look up. When he was able to free a hand, Ben reached for the bed and snatched a blanket. Cocooning himself and Rey in the worn cloth did nothing to relax the woman’s constant shiver. Head to toe and back, Rey became subject to an invisible wind bent on tearing her from the earth, starting with her soul and ending with her body. In deliberate gestures pained in delicate movement, Ben slowly felt his way around Rey’s body, searching for a wound, for anything that signaled bodily harm he could heal. In a way, Ben hoped for the smallest laceration, for anything other than what pressed into his fears. No earthly wound of skin or bone damned Rey, instead it was something far worse and far deeper than weapon could reach.

A vacant breath departed from Ben as he hushed his mind and summoned Rey’s into his own. Cold, like what Ben had only known when he was on the catwalk with Han Solo, crept into his mind. A frigid give spoke of a previous voice, and while Ben did not currently hear that voice, he sensed it and all the intense wrath it carried with it. A sob split from Rey followed by quiet cries she muffled against Ben’s chest. Taking Rey’s head in his hands, Ben brought her face close to his and, in the dim light of the room, caught the sight of silver tears racing down the woman’s face. Rey’s eyes held a glint of panic and anguish, of shattered parts and breathing doom.

“Don’t cry, Rey. Please don’t cry.” Ben’s whisper echoed in Rey’s mind and reverberated back to Ben. A race of possibilities thudded Ben in the chest with every heartbeat, and as he rushed through Rey’s mind in an attempt to heal unseen wounds, the man became more and more dismayed with each failure. In the end, it was all Ben could do to stay with Rey in her mind, to be present in the swelling darkness as imperceptible terrors gripped her thoughts and swallowed her dreams to only birth nightmares.

“Please don’t cry. I won’t leave you, I’ll never leave you.” A final whisper, before Ben turned himself over to his own silent sobs while he rocked Rey close. 

Hours later and after several failed attempts to ask of Rey’s status, Finn and the others turned to unsteady patience as they waited for Ben to emerge from the captain’s quarters. In the meantime, Poe and Lando set a course for an old Rebel hideout, a decommissioned station out in the middle of nowhere. In the silence of the main hold, Maz finally enticed Chewie to a game while the others meandered about the ship either fixing the damage done by Unkar’s men or infusing their minds into some other worthwhile endeavor.

“I’ve never seen Rey like that before,” Finn spoke for the first time in hours as he sipped at his dinner of bone broth and vegetables.

“None of us have.” Poe, with microspec goggles on repairing a frayed wire, spoke over the table.

“What does it mean when we’re three trials in, and it feels like Queen Carise has the upper hand?” Rose asked.

“It means we keep fighting,” Maz answered from the losing side of the game she played with Chewie. 

“Because, you never know what comes next.” In two moves on the Dejarik board, Maz managed to get a step ahead of the Wookiee.

“Your move, Chewie.”

“Queen Carise has more up her sleeve. You all saw the way she looked at Rey, let alone Ben.” Rose offered.

“You think she tipped The Boar off?” Finn asked.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she did,” Rose answered.

A noise down the hall, that of a door opening, stilled the crew while they waited for some sign. Ben, with his eyes bloodshot and still a bit shaken, stepped into the main hold. Not used to explaining himself, or for that matter explaining another person, Ben took his time.

“Rey’s…” The word _fine_ passed over Ben’s mind, but that was so far from true.

“She’s better,” Ben began.

“I think The Boar did something to her drink. Poisoned it, maybe. She’ll recover.” But that last part sounded like Ben was trying to convince himself.

“What about The Boar?” Lando asked.

“He got away, but not before Rey slipped a tracking beacon on him.” Remembering the tiny gadget’s other half, Ben removed the beacon from his pocket and handed it to Artoo.

“Could you keep an eye on that, Artoo?” Ben asked, and a dull whistle, both mournful and apologetic, agreed. 

“Threepio, what’s another trial?” Ben asked.

“Wait, you’re not going to go after The Boar?” Finn asked, coming to his feet, his gaze set for a fight.

“Not now. I underestimated him.” A final tone passed over Ben’s lips.

“Master Ben, there are several trails to choose from.”

“Somewhere…not the desert.” Ben’s voice drifted with exhaustion as if he’d just fought a war with nothing but his bare hands.

“Certainly, sir. Perhaps, the trial ordained for Chandrila?” The droid wondered aloud before continuing.

“The Queen seeks an old Alderaanian relic she believes was stolen by The Birds.” Threepio offered, and when Master Ben showed no disgust at the idea, the droid continued.

“The relic is currently in possession of The Birds, a monastic group, who worship the Force from the reclusive islands of the Silver Sea.” When Ben nodded at the idea, Threepio was prepared to unload the rest of his knowledge about Chandrila but was interrupted.

“Chewie, you think you can get us there?” Ben’s request was met with a quiet growl. Chewie could get to Chandrila with his eyes closed. Finding his feet, Ben walked back into the darkness of the hallway, towards the captain’s quarters where a restless Rey waited.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey helps Ben with the next trial.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since Memorial Day was just this Monday I'd like to say a big thank you to all of you in the military and to those who help keep those severing healthy. I have several family members in the U.S. military (retired and active) and I love them dearly.
> 
> I don't own these characters, the mouse does.

An attenuating shrill nestled in Rey’s ear. Vacillating between awake and asleep, Rey pulled a blanket over her face, hoping it would be enough to chase away the subsiding noise. Parted and separated, Rey’s annoyance with her thoughts became the thing keeping her from sleep. Her mind demanded sleep as the only cure to the screams promising to return. Her senses wanted anything that would fully alleviate the cries resounding in her ears; her mother’s cries, possibly her father’s, and hers as a child. Her body wanted to rise, shuffle off the three blankets Ben wrapped her in and greet whatever waited for her outside. Rey wanted to carry on. Twisting in the nest of blankets, Rey’s mind searched for Ben.

Retrieving his last words left at her ear, Rey recalled Ben saying that they’d arrived on Chandrila. Those words flowed like an admission from Ben’s lips before he nestled himself to her side. Rey remembered telling Ben he’d better get on with it. Nothing good would come from delaying another trial. Unsure of when Ben took her advice, Rey figured he’d left after she’d fallen asleep again. Her mind located Ben somewhere on the _island_. _That’s right_ , the Falcon had landed on one of the many Silver Sea islands. If Rey held her breath, she could hear the rolling of waves and gusts of wind. Not so far away, a twirling in Ben’s mind signaled Rey’s consciousness seeking him out. Rey could feel him smile before…

A harsh pinch, almost like a strong breeze on her cheek, followed by the unease that came when Ben was flung to the ground. A hit to Ben’s cheek manifested ever so slightly on Rey’s face. Rubbing the spot where she thought the hit happened, Rey found her feet. No rush in Ben’s mind spoke of an oncoming battle or life and death situation. By the time Rey reached the Falcon’s ramp, Ben had already been knocked down two more times. Whoever this _enemy_ was they weren’t of the killing kind.

Any deeper musing were lost to the breeze when Rey stepped outside. A constant exhale in the form of a capering wind surrounded Rey. Not as harsh as the one on Ahch-To, but one cool and fragranced with the many flowers of the island. Umber soil beneath Rey’s feet gave to translucent rocks smoothed over by the island’s kind wind. Those same rocks captured the sun’s rays and made the island’s ground glow in beautiful bouts of color. Viridescent grass outlined the island’s layers and hills, its meadows and even topped the taciturn homes the local monks lived in. Squatting, Rey picked up a sliver of pebble no bigger than her palm and turned it in the light as it showed an azure she’d never seen.

Following the commotion of sticks hitting sticks and the occasional holler of Finn or Poe, Rey ascended a nearby hill, thankful for the blanket draped over shoulders. Before making her appearance, Rey paused and looked behind her as if being tapped on the shoulder. The land rolled as waves on the ocean with flowers and grass alike becoming a gentle current and far beyond it there was the Silver Sea and all its held power that dare not harm the island it protected. Gentle with the potential of fiercest power, the island took the sun above as a welcomed crown. Not forced or hurried, but mutual and understanding. When Rey closed her eyes, she felt Ben in everything. The wind carried his name, the loam created words of life abounding and its voice held the same rumble as Ben’s, the meadows showed the grace of a man who died and come back, and the stirring sea with all its height and endeavor swore to nothing but the sun above.

The hurried beeps of BB-8 sounded out Rey’s name before rolling towards her with a speed akin to a crazed rancor. BB-8 called out his greetings again and again before turning to recent affairs.

“I’m happy to see you too, BB-8.” Rey managed to get in. At the top of the hill, Rey sighted the backs of Rose, Finn, and Poe as they watched Ben fight a robed figure with a cloth bound around the face.

“Who are they?” Rey asked BB-8. As BB-8 filled her in on the details of The Birds, Finn heard the familiar voice of his friend and came to his feet to greet her. Hurrying over to Rey, Finn gave her the once over, hoping not to find the leavings of the harsh nightmares that plagued Rey for what felt like weeks.

“How are you?” Finn whispered and before Rey could answer, Poe called out his welcome. A tired sigh passed over Rey before she smiled her best.

“I’ll be all right.” Pulling Finn in for a hug, Rey heard his next question at her ear.

“What did you see?” The question came as hottest flame on her ear eliciting a shaking breath that rattled from Rey’s feet to her tongue. Pulling away, Rey’s answer came as a set of palled eyes and a shaking head.

“Too much. I saw too much.” Rey left it at that before joining the others and taking a seat at Rose’s side, she felt the young woman encircle her arm with hers.

“We’re here for you, Rey.” Rose whispered under her breath. A slight nod indicated that Rey received and returned the message, but the Jedi’s sight was soon placed on Ben.

“How’s he doing?” Rey asked.

“Awful.” Poe answered.

“We should have hired these guys to fight with us.” Finn added. Knees pulled to their chest, Finn and Poe sat transfixed on the fight. As rapid as Ben was, the robed figure was faster. Standing about the same height as Ben, the man’s robes were clad with mud and salt water, all of which flung in every direction as he parried and hit Ben with his staff. 

“Ben’s not using the Force.” Rey commented 

“Yes, that’s part of the deal the monks made with Master Solo.” C-3PO voiced.

On the other side of the fight were a collection of monks, pipes in their mouths they smoked while watching the fight unfold before them. While Finn, Poe, and even Rose were entranced by the fight, the monks seemed subdued, perhaps even meditative.

“What are we here for?” Rey asked.

“A music box,” Poe answered while he stuck the base of a piece of grass in his mouth and chewed.

“General Dameron is correct, although I’d add this music box was a centerpiece of Alderaan at one point. A royal heirloom that passed from one monarch to the next. Its possession is seen as a mark of royalty and class. How The Birds came about it is a mystery.” C-3PO voiced the last note with an air of indignation.

“It should have gone directly to Princess Leia.” The droid added. Before muttering a word similar to beast. 

“Where’s Lando?” Rey asked, noting the lack of a certain Wookiee as well.

“Lando, Maz, and Chewie went to Hanna City across the bay.” Finn answered to the rustle of him opening a tin of food to share with Poe as if this entire matter were so entertaining it made the two hungry. Filled with the sudden urge to look up, Ben glanced from his opponent to the onlookers and finding Rey, he smiled.

“Hey Rey.” The greeting was soon cut short as his opponent’s staff swung from the ground up and caught Ben on his chin, sending him backward.

“Ohhhhhhh.” Poe and Finn called at once as Ben fell to the ground.

“Don’t worry, buddy, you’ll get him next time.” Poe subdued his laughter as Ben took a moment and rested on the ground. Decades of training with his uncle seem to do nothing in the face of a monk who spent his days praying and practicing. Ben let loose another smile when he opened his eyes to find Rey standing over him, her hair down, and gaze claiming a soft amusement. The cut on his lip fought Ben’s broadening smile, but he shrugged the pain. Offering her hand, Rey helped Ben to his feet and assessing the bruises and cuts to his face and hands, she shook her head while trying to cover her smile. Tugging at the hand over her lips, Ben brushed the corner of her lip before offering her the staff in his hands, her staff.

“I think this battle might be one better suited for you.”

Rey didn’t hesitate as she slouched the blanket over her shoulders and accepted the old staff she’d kept by her side for years.

“No Force?” Rey questioned.

“No Force.” Ben confirmed.

Taking Rey’s seat next to Rose, Ben slouched forward watching as the woman took on the built stance of someone who’d fought down several Jakku thieves bent on taking her earnings. Licking her lips, Rey sized up the man before her. Eyes covered with a cloth, Rey sensed the man had eyes developed for a darker world. Calm, restrained, composed, and above all thoughtful, the man regarded Rey with a nod of his head before bringing his weapon behind his body in a pre-fight move.

“You are Rey of Jakku, the Jedi.” The man’s voice came as a surprise to Rey. The man didn’t speak often, but when he did, his voice had a fresh and lovely sound to it.

“I am a Bird. A follower of the Force and a servant to all.”

“Yeah, then why don’t you hand over the box and we’ll be on our way.” Rey offered and in response the man brought his staff around, cutting the mud below his feet as he did. Dragging the staff back and forth, Rey noticed an image in the mud, one of curves and plummets. 

“Are you familiar with this image?” The man asked.

“No.”

“It is the Crest of Alderaan. A place of refuge for our kind when we were hunted. To the galaxy this symbol is one of greatest sadness, but to me and my own it is one of fortitude and loyalty. We serve under this Crest as well as many more that have lost their place in a warring galaxy. The relic you seek is one that was located with significant danger to ourselves.”

“I thought monks weren’t allowed to have possessions.” Rey countered.

“How is it a possession when we intend to return the relic to its proper owner?” Rey looked to Ben who shrugged.

“Ben already explained to you why we’re here. Queen Carise wants the box.” The monk leaned forward and Rey felt his hidden gaze on her as if he were a teacher waiting for his student to catch on.

“The box belongs to Ben Solo. He’s the living heir and the closest person Alderaan has to a king.” The man corrected.

“Then why don’t you hand it over?” Rey loosened her grip on her staff.

“I cannot give to him what he doesn’t feel to be his. And so…” The monk bowed before raising his staff high above his head. Rey blocked the move, but it sent her to her back where she rolled to miss the next hit. Back on her feet, Rey caught the monk’s next hit and pulling her staff back to her managed to knock the monk off balance as her staff caught his. Taking the slight fall as a window to get a hit in, Rey hit the monk’s legs sending him to the ground. The tip of her staff as his chest, the monk raised his hands.

“One down.” The monk said and then gestured to the other five monks looking on. Rey released a heavy sigh, rolled her eyes, and stepped back, allowing the man to his feet and the next monk to enter the fight. 


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey completes the task and the monks ask their new friends to stay for dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your patience! I have a few comments waiting to be answered and I'll take care of them as soon as I find the time. Thank you so much for every hit, kudo, comment, all of it! Things have been so busy and I'm so thankful for the patience.

Eyeing her next opponent, Rey swiveled her staff behind her and kept it there as the monk stared down at his own weapon. Twirling the staff faster and faster, the monk tossed the staff high into the air only to catch it behind his back without missing a beat. Nodding to herself, Rey stepped back before rushing the monk who responded by running towards her only to flip into the air at the last minute. The lithe form of the monk cleared Rey with little trouble before landing behind her and knocking her to the ground. A bit miffed, Rey came to her feet, wiped the mud from her face, and pressed forward, catching the monk’s staff before he could manage to jump from her reach. Breaking the staff from his grasp, Rey head-butted the monk. The move left the monk dazed, but not for long. Regaining some composure, the monk pierced the ground with his staff right as Rey made a move to trip him. Pulling the staff back, Rey almost fell to the ground but caught herself with her own staff.

“Oh, she’s annoyed.” Poe shook his head. He’d seen that look on Rey’s face before. The monk was in for it.

“I bet you didn’t know this about your girlfriend, Ben, but if there’s one thing she can’t stand, it’s someone who engages her in a fight only to avoid her.” Poe eyed Ben, wondering if he’d even heard the jab. While Ben’s focus was on Rey and her defeating the second monk, he did pay mind to Poe’s words.

“Does he always feel the need to be heard?” Ben asked in a tone only Rose could hear. The woman next to Ben nodded her head ever so slightly.

“He’s not so bad once you get to know him,” Rose answered. Offering Ben a sideways glance, Rose noticed the man’s impassivity like a thick curtain keeping the rest of the world from completely knowing what was going on inside his head. Rose knew this not always to be the case as she’d heard of Kylo Ren’s consuming rage. However, Rose concluded there was a difference between cutting the world to bits with a lightsaber and having some sort of give in facial expression.

“You don’t smile much,” Rose commented, and the question seem to take Ben off guard as he unfixed his gaze from Rey and stared off into the distance, thinking to himself.

“I guess with Snoke in your head for so long it could dampen the want to smile.” Rose thought aloud as she caught sight of the third monk strolling up to Rey. Rose thought about it for a minute. She’d never seen Snoke face to face but had heard enough from Finn to know Supreme Leader Snoke was imposing even for those who only knew him through First Order gossip. Rose recalled the time when Finn told her that he’d seen General Hux forced against the ceiling of a ship.

“Snoke wasn’t even on the vessel. He was somewhere else and managed to hurt Hux.” Finn had said. Truly, Snoke was terrifying, but having him live in your head? That was unspeakable.

“I’m sorry about that,” Rose spoke the apology clearly, leading Poe and Finn to look over to her, both confused as to what she was talking about. Ben met Rose’s eyes, and finding sincerity there, he offered the smallest smile.

“In the beginning, it was easy to think of him as a friend.” Ben’s words sounded as if they came from a child. Like pulling a rancor out of a mud pit by its teeth, it was excruciating to speak of his past. Things were so much easier with Rey. Communicating with her was like breathing. Rose, Finn, and Poe watched Ben, a bit confounded over the way Ben spoke about Snoke. They’d only knew Snoke as a deadly enemy, as something dark and evil.

“When things didn’t make sense, Snoke gave me the truth, and I _trusted_ him.” The word ‘trust’ sat like metal in Ben’s mouth, heavy and tasting too much like blood. It was near impossible to trust anyone. When it became clear to the others that Ben was done speaking for the day, they turned their attention back to Rey, completely missing the quick work she made of Monk three and four.

“All right, last one,” Finn spoke if only to clear the air of Ben’s confession. Talking about Snoke always made the ex-Stormtrooper tense and for a good reason. Still, Finn glanced at Ben once more, taking in the man’s soft gaze. Finn began to wonder what it must mean to have that fixture of a look even after going through what Ben did. There was no question that Snoke pushed Ben to the extreme of his humanity, but as Finn considered, was it possible to meet the shadowy precipice of human darkness and still be a good person?

“And that’s five!” Poe called.

“This one wasn’t so bad, ha, buddy?” Poe grasped Finn’s shoulder calling the man from his inner thoughts. Catching her breath, Rey swiveled her staff behind her back and surveyed the last monk. Prone only for a moment, the monk soon found his feet but didn’t retrieve his staff. The other monks had long recouped their strength and now rested on the short stone wall that lead into their village.

“That’s it?” Rey asked, eyeing the monks in disbelief. The original monk, the one with the blindfold wound tightly over his face, stepped forward, his palms facing Rey. While Rey couldn’t see the man’s expression, she sensed within the Force, his mild humor at her comment.

“Where you expecting to fight Jedi with half your experience?” The monk asked before tucking his hands behind his back. A bit embarrassed by the question, Rey waited for the monks to reveal the box.

“So, I guess we’ll be getting the relic and leaving.” Rey offered.

“We do have a request.” The blindfolded monk asked.

“And what’s that?” Ben asked, but within the Force, the answer was loud as the crashing waves.

“It is best to end the relic’s journey with us at the same time it began. We brought the relic here at sundown, and in our experience, it is best to round a journey out. To conclude it in a circle.” Sincere words with a hopeful voice fought against Rey and Ben’s desire to get to the next task.

“We need all the help we can get,” Ben mumbled under his breath, and Rey nodded.

“We’ll wait until sundown.” Rey’s answer made the monk smile.

“Very well. You’ll find the island is at its peak during sunset. The other monks and I would be honored if you’d join us for dinner.”

“Oh, do say yes to dinner! The Birds boast of some of the most delectable cuisines!” C-3PO called, and Poe and Finn had to exchange glances in question of what a droid knew of food.

A subsiding day brought with it high tide and the deep scents of cooked meat and broiled vegetables, all mixed with isle spices and rare seeds. A meandering spirit seemed to collect the crew and toss each person and droid to follow as the island willed. Poe took to the island’s cliffs, taking the height as a dare while Rose and Finn wandered off to one of the nearby meadows. C-3PO took great pleasure in speaking to the monks as they endured his constant chatter with patience. Artoo and BB-8 did what they could to follow Poe, but once the man reached a spot not easily advanced upon by rolling droids, the two were forced to find some other use of their time. It was in Ben to follow the monks into their village, to use the Force, and perhaps gain any nestling precaution he should have against them. To no surprise, there was nothing hiding in the worn, gray stone villas. Nothing to speak of from the verdant grass claiming every crevice of the short stone walls to the open mess hall the monks gathered in to sing, cook, and eat.

Even as early as the afternoon, the mess hall made of salt-stained stone boasted with the hums and tunes of old monks as they chopped and stirred together. To Ben’s relief, he found no harm gathered away somewhere on the island. Relaxed by the peace the island held, Ben felt the want to meditate, and just as he made his move to exit the village until dinner was ready, a young monk stopped him.

“You look like an Adranax kind of man?” Bemused by the question, Ben recalled the name from his youth.

“Adranax? The poet?” Ben asked. The young monk must have been only a couple years older than Ben, and given the young man’s surroundings, it didn’t surprise Ben that the newer monk spent part of his time reading poetry.

“Him and Soshu Londahl and Teebo.” At the answer, the young monk smiled widely.

“I always thought Kylo Ren secretly enjoyed the arts.” If the young monk noticed Ben’s apprehension, he didn’t care.

“It’s in the way you fight.” The young monk began. “I used to work as a bounty hunter. Sometimes I took offers from the First Order. I watched you fight several times. It’s like you traded verse for fevered swordsmanship. There’s a meter to the way you fight, like a dance, but more painful.”

“Are you hiding from the First Order? Is that why you’re here?” Ben asked.

“No, I left my guild. I suppose I’m a bit like you. I didn’t know what I was looking for and when I did…”   
The monk dropped his smile as his eyes drifted to something far beyond the island.

“When I found what I was looking for, everything else just evaporated.” The monk bowed his head once before offering Ben a later meeting during dinner if only to swap their favorite poems and folklore.

“Poetry?” Rey asked from Ben’s side. When she caught the slightest red reaching Ben’s cheeks, Rey brushed Ben’s face before taking his hand. 

A plateau overlooking a beach formed with ancient volcanic remains became the chosen spot for Ben and Rey to meditate. Quiet, still, and breathing with life, the wave of tall grasses welcomed the two. Sinking into the grass, Rey took a final look over the abounding beauty before turning her mind to the Force. Like a trip that didn’t require her to move, the Force took Rey around the island. From monk to monk, to the droids, to Poe who’d managed to climb the highest peak and now at such a place couldn’t help but think of his parents, to Rose whose very heart gladdened at the idea of witnessing the island’s sunset, and finally to Finn. Rey’s dearest friend celebrated his time with Rose, in her smiles, and floating happiness.

What felt like a punch to her chest, Rey heard the far off screams of her mother. The darkness came soon after as Rey’s mind was clouded with harsh, unknown memories. Lost within herself, Rey rushed for some kind of refuge or subsiding light, but there was none. An unnerving darkness sank itself into the woman, promising to take all of her into the depths of nothingness. The inkling request to inhale and unburden her held breath came as a floating thought. When Rey followed the request, she envisioned a healing warmth encircling her wrist and bending into her palm, willing her to take hold. Again, Rey followed the warmth and so was plucked from the darkness in her mind.

 _Rey_. A mix of nightmare and dream, past and present, and unrelenting future stirred the woman until she opened her eyes. Rey caught the final plummeting rim of the sun as it sank below the horizon.

 _How long was I meditating_? Rey questioned the bleeding sunset, the feral reds, and captivating oranges that claimed the sky and sea and rested heavily in Ben Solo’s eyes as he waited on Rey with her hand tightly holding his wrist. Rey swore she could feel the man’s blood coursing below his skin and flooding back into his heart. He’d been with her in the darkness intertwined in a way that made the inner path walkable. Like a thread compounded by time, space, and something neither of them had a word for, a throe most painful and fulfilling overtook Rey and brought her back to the present. However, the journey back wasn’t without trouble. Sitting close to one another, Ben watched as Rey first reacted to the sudden pass of time, then to her realization of where her meditation had taken to, and finally to the memories she tried so hard to keep from her thoughts.

A breaking beset Rey and while her skin didn’t give and her flesh remained whole, on the inside, every part of her screamed. Slouching into Ben’s arms as the burden on her shoulders became ten times what it was, Rey struggled for air. Ben pulled her to his chest, swearing he’d be with her every step of the way. She could leave or stay in her thoughts, could work through them or not, could decide them better left for another day, or spend eternity waging against them as one does a war. No matter, Ben instilled his placed next to Rey, giving an unspoken oath that he would not leave her. In rapid grounding, Rey steadied her thoughts against Ben’s and watched as the darkness retreated.

“It’s going to come back,” Rey admitted aloud.

“It will.” Ben’s voice held assurance, but also unmoving declaration. Silence passed between the two until Ben placed his lips against Rey’s ear.

“Tonight, when you go to sleep, your dreams will pour straight from your heart. Fill your eyes with dusking starlight and sun’s rarest days. They’ll be people you love and voices you’ve longed to hear with oaths and stories that will enrich your being and remain with you long after you wake.” Ben nearly hummed the words while Rey closed her eyes if only to focus on the rumble Ben’s voice made in her chest.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the box is handed over, but it contains more than what Ben expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own these characters, the mouse does.

Deep within the bowels of Birren’s fortress, the blunt figure of man wandered down darkened halls sticking to the shadows as a monster might. While armed with hidden blasters and knives, the man didn’t leverage his hand to any of them. He was in a safe place, a place whose leader protected him, at least for the moment. With a hidden knowledge of Birren’s inner workings, the man molded his way from one ornately decorated hall to the next until arriving at a locked threshold. Revealing a rusted set of data keys, the man picked through them one by one, not caring of the hour or who could be following him. No one could sneak up on him without his knowledge, and if by some miracle they did, they’d be made subject to the Queen herself. Finding the brass key, the one longer than his fingers with several bisections likes the roots of a tree, the man brought the key close to the lock and watched as the key seemingly came to life and dug its fingers into the lock. Clicks, like moments, passed, and then the door opened.

“It’s about time.” A familiar voice, dull and uninterested, greeted the man.

Queen Carise rested at the end of a table cut from Alderaan’s finest stone. Illuminated by the smallest peek of light, the table glowed, and such a soft light bounced off Queen Carise’s robes. If the woman wanted to feel like a god, then this was the best way to make that happen, sitting at the head of an endangered table while calling upon one of the galaxy’s most deadly bounty hunters.

The Boar bowed before entering the room and took his seat at the opposite end of the table.

“I heard you sent the girl running?” There was a laugh caught in the back of the Queen’s voice.

“I did. And as for your most recent request, I have fulfilled that too.” The Boar leaned forward, allowing the light from the table to catch on the sickly green of his right eye.

“Good.” The Queen cooed, pleased with the idea of what would come next.

“And the First Order?” The Queen slid a metal tin across the table, and The Boar caught it with a lightning speed that reminded the Queen why he was so feared. Opening the tin, The Boar found another key, one that would give him access to the crate of credits being loaded onto his ship at that exact moment.

“The First Order has been informed.” The Boar would count his credits twice and then twice again to make sure he’d been appropriately paid for contacting an organization he loathed, not for its crimes, but for its harassment against him.

“Very good. Keep an eye on them, and when the moment presents itself, when he is at his weakest, and she is silenced, then…” The Queen snapped her fingers.

“As you wish.” The Boar answered with a pearly grin capable of killing a rancor. 

Night approached the Chandrillian island as a breeze, gently gusting over the meadows and small, stone homes of the monks. As fire dotted each open doored home, the smell of salt-sweet stew wafted across the bluffs attracting the visitors. By sundown, Lando, Chewie, and Maz returned to the island with parts from a vessel smith, including those Finn sensed they would need in the near future. At first, Lando had waved off the request for coaxium, but when Finn insisted it might come in handy later, Lando relented and, by some miracle, found the expensive fuel at a bargain price. With the small amount of fuel tucked away in the Falcon, Lando, Chewie, and Maz joined the others who gathered in the monks’ mess hall for dinner. A fire at the center of the gathering surrounded by old stone benches with plenty of seating welcomed the guests, and then with the presence of the well-awaited stew brought an air of calm mixed with hungry bellies. A satisfied silence passed over the crowd, but slowly conversation grew. Bouts of laughter and stories taking a lifetime to build were given as bread and so filled the souls well into the night.

The monk from before, the one who spoke to Ben of poetry, eventually found Ben at a mostly unoccupied table. It’d taken a silent exchange, and a look of knowing for Ben to convince Rey to join her friends, and as soon as she did, the young monk took the moment to speak to Ben.

“I was going to make a selfish request.” The monk began, putting a cup of some green, sweet-smelling liquid in front of himself and Ben. Ben regarded the monk in silence, waiting for him to continue.

“If, by some chance, you come by one of the great archives in your travels, I’d request a brief journey on your part for anything by any of the great poets.” Ben nodded to the request before tipping back enough of the green liquid to touch his lips. Ah, nectar from the island’s grove of fruit trees.

“The library on the island isn’t exactly what you’d call…complete.” As the young monk spoke his final sentence, an older monk joined the two, the one who’d donned a blindfold during the middle of the day, but now, in the evening’s darkness, had removed it to show two glowing eyes. A slight nod and the older monk pulled from his robes a small trinket no larger than his palm, swaddled in an old cloth.

“Your prize.” The monk smiled before glancing back to Rey.

“She insisted I leave it to your capable hands.” As if completing a mission that started decades ago, the older monk left the table with the stride of a man with few worries on his shoulders. Taking the swaddled object in his hand, Ben looked over it once before gaining a last word for the younger monk.

“Your request isn’t selfish. The best part of our nature is the unwavering desire to know another.” With little much than a breath, Ben caught Rey’s attention from across the mess hall. Her lilted gaze catching his, Rey rose from her seat to join Ben. The box held a certain weight in Ben’s hand, the kind that promised more than what he anticipated. Into the night, the two passed by the stone homes, the short wall, the gently swaying fields, and so rest themselves into a nearby meadow. Even with Chandrila’s night, the two managed to make out the cube when Ben uncovered it.

“I don’t think this thing has seen the outside world for a very long time,” Ben mumbled to himself, wondering how long the monks had kept it folded up. A hint of royal blue at the center with crystalized corners marked with golden ornaments made the box appear every bit as frivolous as any other ornate jewel, but there it was. A calling to be unlocked.

“This isn’t a music box.” Ben sighed at the familiar shape.

“It’s a holocron.” Ben completed. Turning the holocron in his hand, Ben could almost feel Luke watching him, waiting for him to unlock the wisdom it held. Slouching, Ben rolled the heavy cube from his hand and into Rey’s.

“You’d better be the one to open it.”

“What? Why? Ben, you have every right-” Rey began, but she soon realized the growing gust in the air wasn’t one from the sea, but from somewhere deep inside Ben. Brewing and unannounced, a grizzly pain nestled its teeth into Ben as a single voice rose to the precipice of his attention, that of his mother. Rey didn’t have much experience with holocrons, but knew enough to still her thoughts and allow the object to float from her hands. Resting herself against the earth, Rey sat with her legs crossed, and her mind focused on the old relic. A great light encompassed the small patch of meadow Ben and Rey claimed, but its power paled in comparison to the voices that poured forth.

His back turned to the whole event, Ben caught his breath while he counted down the voices one by one. First, it was a monarch from long ago, one who’d befriended a Jedi who’d helped the Alderaan Queen compose the message locked within the holocron. One voice after another until that of Bail Organa spoke of Alderaan, her might and power, her beauty and unending spirit. In a sad recognition, Rey realized that the man who spoke, the man whose image was cast in glowing blue, was none other than Leia’s father and Ben’s maternal grandfather. A tear pierced Rey’s cheek as she watched Bail’s passion for his home flood the light. Afterward, it was Breha Organa who’d lovingly composed some of her favorite Alderaan bedtime stories before going on to mention the steadfast importance that as long as a single drop of Alderaan blood be alive, then Alderaan herself could never die. Covering her mouth, Rey was amazed at the woman’s composure, her strength, and ability to sense somehow that Alderaan, the planet, would one day be gone. Finally, it was the young voice of Leia Organa.

Almost as brilliant as the light Leia commanded was the crack in Ben’s mind. Behind Rey, he fell to his knees while he forced himself to listen to his mother’s voice. Unable to look away, Rey watched a young Leia, younger than even her, speak of the future. A hopeful smile rested on the woman’s lips and grew with every mention of living prosperity for all, not just Alderaan, and enough goodness to go around.

It would be moments later when the image of Leia dimmed, and Rey and Ben were left to the darkness of the island. Almost unable to move, Rey reached behind her, searching for Ben’s hand, and when her fingers touched his, she sighed in relief. As if she were being melted from the inside out, Rey became the first to move and so picked up Ben’s head and placed it in her lap. Forehead to forehead, Rey gathered the words Ben had said to her earlier, the ones about dreaming and stories. Word for word, Rey plummeted that same promise into Ben’s mind.

“I can feel more to the holocron,” Ben whispered into the night.

“I can, too. We’ll save it for another day.” Rey flattened her hands against Ben’s chest, wished for his warmth to engrave her skin, and wanted for nothing except the jump of his heartbeat against her palms.

“Ben, your mother loves you so much, and she would be so proud of you.” Rey felt the words rejected by Ben’s mind, so she whispered them again and again with each passing of the sentence bringing her closer to his ears. It was late into the night when Ben relented and allowed the warmest belief Rey had touch his mind. 


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey has a dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own these characters, the mouse does. 
> 
> Also, don't read the sentence below if you don't want to be sad.....
> 
> While writing the dream sequence for this chapter, I thought to myself 'If canon Rey had this dream and woke up to just her in bed, no Ben..." Ughhhh I cried after that thought and then I cried some more. Also, whatever you do don't think about this while listening to too sad to cry by Sasha Sloan. Gosh, I miss Ben Solo so much.

The heavy dinner provided by The Birds left the crew of the Millennium Falcon subsided with full stomachs and desire for deep rest. The Birds were more than happy to accommodate the traveling brigade, and no doubt, as every worn body met the soft give of their blankets, a deep rest grasped each visitor and did not let go until late morning. For Ben and Rey, their night was held within the Falcon’s cool air. Thankful for the way sleep did not dispute them, the two could no sooner find a comfortable embrace before they fell into dreams. As was promised by Ben’s tranquil, evening words, Rey swirled with humming voices and easing touch. There was a time when Rey the child would spin herself dizzy and fall to the ground, not allowing a single care for the hot, desert sand and the way it itched beneath her clothing. Arms sprawled, the girl kept her eyes open as the blue sky swiveled uncontrollably. In all the purposeful upset, it was easy to believe she saw a vessel reentering Jakku’s atmosphere, it was easy to believe that same vessel was headed straight for her, but by the time the dizziness wore off, there was no convincing herself of any further daydreams.

The twirling of Rey’s dreams was like spinning in the desert and falling to the ground, except there was no force to her beliefs and no crushing truth either. From the haze of her dreams, Rey considered her presence among a soft-cool flower of a place with no end or beginning. All were present, and as Rey rushed, the inkling of herself not entirely given to sleep recalled the blurred faces of her parents. Holding her, rocking her, kissing her good night, and when it was time for Rey to leave and join the next part of her journey, she did so with no thought of never seeing her parents. Time was nothing here, and seeing her mother and father was as simple as looking over her shoulder. There was Finn with smiles and kind words, Leia with brimming encouragement and knowing eyes, Han who even in Rey’s dreams still grumbled with a half-grin as atonement, Rose and all her stories of home, Poe and the humorous part of himself he didn’t always show, and Luke with his wisdom set aside for the more important task of laughing.

It all seem to flow by until Rey imagined herself in a river of clear water. Blue to the bottom with pearl sand reflecting a brilliant sun, the woman stayed with the current until she felt the shallows reach for her feet. At a beach in the middle of a dream so far from anywhere that mattered, Rey expected the chill of a breeze where the water touched her skin, but there was none. The sun above spoke in warmth unending, and it became easy as breathing to shrug off unknown worries in this place. Climbing a small hill, Rey glanced at the apex only to find glittering light and perhaps the beginnings of a shower. Caprice resounded in the woman’s chest, becoming the only discomfort she’d encountered in the entire dream.

A sudden realization swept through Rey as she understood a separation she neither had the words to define, nor the time to encompass was quickly threading through her. In unison, every vessel of her being roared to a life never felt before. Finding the top of the hill became like desiring the surface from beneath the waves. Running faster than she’d ever known herself to be capable of, Rey found the apex, the palm of everything spread out before her with gentle sways and heartbeat promises. Beauty in terms she’d never seen raced in all she saw, but it was nothing compared to the erupting flat rock and the man who sat with his back to Rey. Approaching the rock, that delicate pain in Rey drifted away, and the man on the rock came to his feet. There was nowhere the light didn’t touch, and the man was no exception. Enraptured silence passed between the two when Ben turned to face Rey.

Circling one another, Rey realized that while she’d felt the others in her dream, it had Ben alone that she actually saw. If only moments of her life were left, Rey promised herself, it would be spent recalling this moment when she saw Ben in wait. There was no time here, except that time resting on Ben’s shoulders and the oath of its eternity. A single breath, the time it takes for an empire to rise and fall, and a star to birth a new system; there was no telling how long Ben had waited for her. Gently, ever so gently, Ben extended his hand with fingers capable of collapsing the world, but that power became contrite in Rey’s overwhelming presence and loosened its hold on Ben. Without hardship, without mauling disagreement or painful entreat, Rey collected her hand with Ben’s. A gasp from the past sounded and was made quiet. If in this dream Rey found herself joyous beyond her years, then curling into Ben’s embrace made her a stranger to brokenness. Her hands at Ben’s face, through his hair, until they rested on his chest. Time once again became nothing as Rey imagined herself just arriving or perhaps being there for the whole of her life and then some.

Inspiration rang its way into Rey’s lungs, bringing her suddenly awake. The near-dark of the captain’s quarters begged Rey to go back to bed, but Rey knew it to be close to mid-morning and well past time to wake up. Still…Rey lifted her head from Ben’s chest to find the man’s eyes watching her. No dream this time, but the same promise remained; he’d have waited for her for an eternity.

“Did you do that?” It wasn’t an accusation, but a simple question. Rey refereed to her dream, trying to think of a way Ben could have placed it in her mind. A frown almost unperceivable crossed Ben’s features. Already Rey could sense the swelling chill in Ben’s mind as he recalled Snoke and all the thoughts placed by the Supreme Leader into Ben’s head. No, despite Ben’s goodwill towards Rey, he had not put the dream into Rey’s head as the act reminded him too much of what his previous master did to him. It had bloomed on its own and was only inspired by Ben’s poem from the meadow.

“In Jakku, I used to dream of the desert, and sometimes I’d dream of another place, but I could never picture it in my mind afterward. How is it that I can dream of a place I’ve never been and still recall it after I’ve awoken?” Rey asked, watching as Ben’s frown faded and his brow relaxed. A journey of its own took place behind the man’s watchful regard. Paths forked and divided further and further from each other with Ben taking each until he finally came upon the answer.

“The path we take on the outside is just as nuanced as the one on the inside. It’s not that the place in your dreams is new to you. You’ve felt it before, but for the first time your mind has allowed you to see it.”

“And you were there. You were waiting for me.” Rey stated, searching the darkness in an attempt to put more of the clues together.

“You were waiting for a very long time.” The Jedi’s mind jumped to the possibility the dream was a warning, but that didn’t seem to fit the overwhelming joy. On the tip of her tongue, Rey spoke the word without noticing the thought it reared first.

“Dyad.” When Rey looked back to Ben, she found the man’s stare placed squarely on her, unblinking and eased toward mystified concern. A reaction cold as ice ran from Ben to Rey prompting another question Rey knew Ben didn’t want her to ask.

“What do you know about the dyad?” From somewhere deep inside Rey, she remembered Palpatine’s words about the dyad, the glee behind his knowledge of something Rey had only known of for a short time. Not answering at first, Ben allowed a moment to pass as he reconciled the idea. There were more questions about the dyad than actual answers.

“Not much and what I do know is scraps compared to what Palpatine probably knew.” Ben didn’t want to say more as if even mentioning the dyad did something to the universe around him. Sitting up in bed, Rey pictured the dyad as more than a connection between her and Ben, but something of immense capabilities.

“You’re afraid.” Those words reminded Rey of the first time she’d said them to Kylo Ren. Back then, Kylo Ren reacted with stunned silence when Rey told him of his fears about Darth Vader, but now, with Ben, he simply rested with his arms behind his head, wanting to hear what she had to say.

“You’re afraid of the dyad because you don’t know its origins or why it exists.” Rey practically tasted the questions in Ben’s mind. Ben nodded and beginning to see a growing apprehension spread over Rey’s face, Ben took her hand.

“One thing at a time. We finish the trials, and then we find out more about the dyad.”

“How?” Ben sat up, his form catching what little light was in the captain’s quarters. It wasn’t long ago the lithe form of Kylo Ren haunted Rey’s dreams leaving her both tentative about the future but even more unnerved about the churning inside her when it came to the man claiming her every dream. Sensing the past, Ben squeezed Rey’s hand.

“I’d start with visiting every major galactic library in the galaxy. Search the hidden places, such as old Jedi temples and Sith planets, but that’s only if you want to.” Ben waited for Rey’s answer and was prepared never to go searching for any of it. Giving Rey the life she deserves didn’t mean dedicating oneself to a journey that may never be fruitful. In the darkness, Ben released his hand from Rey’s and encircled his arms about her waist while he let his head fall to her lap. Beyond the quarters, both of them could hear the sounds of the crew coming together. Chewie’s heavy steps thudded as he prepared something to eat, Lando’s laughter boomed over something Maz said, Finn and Poe held some back and forth.

“I want to know,” Rey answered, something inside her needed to know. 


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe asks Ben a tough question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own these characters, the mouse does.

It was C-3PO’s shrill interruption that brought Lando from his reprieve. The once general of the Rebel Alliance looked up from his warm beverage to find the droid waving his golden arms. Sighing to himself, Lando cursed Poe under his breath for asking absentmindedly how many trials remained.

“Several, I’m afraid.” C-3PO’s answer pushed the group into the next question; which one was next?

“Wait a minute; we aren’t going to take the box back to Queen Carise first?” Finn asked.

“We don’t think it’s a good idea. Queen Carise keeps us in the dark; maybe it’s time we do the same to her.” Rey’s answer came from a full mouth while she gobbled down the meal Chewie had made for her.

“You don’t think that’s going to backfire?” Poe asked.

“Oh, it might, but for now, the more she knows, the more dangerous she becomes.”

“I agree,” Lando spoke with his gaze on C-3PO, wanting the droid to continue.

“Well, the most logical choice would be to go to the junkyard world of Bracca in search of Queen Carise’s stolen ship, The Hind, or…” As Threepio spoke, a hologram image showed the royal starship in all its glory. Sleek, polished, again, it seemed the ship held value to the Queen as a symbol of her prestige rather than a fast and capable vessel, perhaps something that could be used on diplomatic missions.

“Or recover the Crown of Alderaan from Bespin.” At the mention of the crown, Lando and Ben exchanged looks from across the table. Catching the exchange, Rey stopped eating and caught Ben’s eye.

“A long time ago, my mother found the crown in an abandoned vault that once belonged to Darth Vader. She took it back and handed it over to Lando for safekeeping should the time ever come…” Ben’s whisper dropped to nothing.

“Should the time ever come?” Rey asked, but Ben was far away, somewhere in his mother’s memories. When Ben was a child, it didn’t take long for Leia to figure out that she could show him parts of her past through her own memory. For Ben, it was like being on Alderaan; he saw his grandmother, grandfather, Apalis Coast, where the Organa estate rested, and more. Through his mother’s memories, Ben had seen the crown in passing, but he had yet to see it in person. A shrill ran through the man as he recalled the materials smithed to create the crown. Precious jewels, crystals, metals, even rumored kyber crystal, and all of it capable of withholding an entire history. Ben didn’t want to think about what would happen should he touch the crown. 

“Should the time ever come that a true monarch rise from Alderaan’s ashes and claim it.” The cabin’s traveling hum seem to drift into complete silence as heads dropped in memory of Princess Leia and for those who’d visited Alderaan or had friends that died on the planet during the tragedy. True, the crown was most heavy when there was no head for it to rest on.

“How does Queen Carise know it’s on Bespin?” Ben asked, moving the silence.

“The crown is registered under Bespin’s Intergalactic Cultural Archive. Despite where Leia found it, she was its only surviving handler, and so she had the right to sign it over. It was the only thing she could think to do to protect it.”

“How do we get it back?” A danger wove itself into Ben’s voice as the darkness the cabin offered seem to collect itself around Ben.

“No, kid.” Lando shook his head. He’d had a hand in this after all and wanted the opportunity to fix it.

“I’ll take care of this one. You and the others find The Hind, Maz, and I will go to Bespin.” Prepared to speak against the idea, Ben nearly opened his mouth but paused when Rey rested her hand over his. A breath of calm wafted through the man, dispelling the darkness, and bringing him to the present.

“Okay, off to Bracca then.”

Finn remembered hearing a rumor about Bracca while he was in the First Order. He’d heard one could smell Bracca long before entering its atmosphere. When from the co-pilot’s seat, Finn saw the planet of Bracca quickly approaching he swore he smelled a leathery scent. Like oil mixed with leather and left outside for too long until mold collected. Recalling the old rumor, Finn shrugged the memory. It was impossible to smell a planet from this distance…or was it? Beyond Bracca’s atmosphere, the gold, sparking cut of machinery became the only source of light. Mountains of ships, heaps of metal on metal blocked out any promise of organic life. Clouds above gathered, and just when Finn thought it couldn’t get any darker, it did, and then the rain came. There were rumbles as well, and at first, those new to Bracca thought it was thunder from directly overhead, but the constant clash later proved to be from sections of ships crashing into each other as they were cut from place.

“How are we supposed to find The Hind in all of this?” Poe questioned eyeing the first mountain of ships and thinking it was the largest of them all he soon came to the overpowering answer that there were more mountains just as daunting as it. A hand on his shoulder invited Poe to turn and find Lando.

“Don’t worry. I put a word in to an old friend. The Hind is being kept at Base Sixteen. You’ll have to ask the Guavian Death Gang about it, or you could just try and steal it.” Lando offered with a shrug.

“As soon as we land, Maz and I are off.” Lando reminded the young general.

“Chewie, go ahead and pull the Falcon into the adjacent base. We’ll regroup there.” Poe eyed Lando for a final time. Surveying the older man as exhausted, overdrawn, and perhaps a bit caught in his memories, Poe questioned how much power the Crown of Alderaan had to make Lando look so tired.

Watching Maz and Lando take off in a beat-up, rented vessel from the Imperial Era lent an odd feeling in Poe’s chest. Why take such a vessel if only to remain under the radar? And if Maz and Lando wanted to be unseen, why? More questions bubbled to the surface, leaving Poe with only one person he could think of to inquire about them. Beneath the surface of Bracca’s junkyard, a labyrinth of tunnels and bases proved to the Falcon’s crew just how profitable it was to destroy a planet for the sole purpose of processing defunct ships. While most of Bracca’s underworld was grimy and filled with the soot of the above world’s workings, there were some well-lavished bases and connected to them estates. Hutt cartels were an obvious find along with other crime syndicates and bounty hunters, old Imperial corporations, and more. It was clear to Poe and the others that it was imperative to remain as unseen as possible.

With Base Sixteen heavily guarded and kept behind a barricaded gate, Threepio was the first to mention a sewer system that would give them access to Base Sixteen’s fleet of ships, including the one they came for; The Hind. Poe proposed a plan to Rose, Finn, Rey, Ben, and BB-8. They would enter the sewer system while leaving behind Chewie, R2-D2, and Threepio with the Falcon. “Just be ready to leave when the time is right.” Poe more said to himself than to the others. The rumors of Bracca were right; this place smelled horrible, but there was more to it that Poe knew had to do with the planet’s seedy underbelly. If they were caught, they’d find themselves surrounded by enemies. 

“So what is it about that crown that has you and Lando so…off?” Poe offered the question in as much respect as he could muster for the man walking next to him. The sewer system wasn’t difficult to find, and as BB-8 noted after they’d left the protection of the Falcon, it was well below the base’s already subterranean location. Poe had the question in mind as Ben entered the sewer’s porthole and became the first to lower himself into the hot stench darkness with only his feet on the rungs of the ladder to signal Ben was making some progress. With BB-8 secured to Ben’s back in a pack of sorts, the sound of BB-8’s chirps became the call for the others to follow. Some thousand or so rungs later, Ben was at the sewer’s lowest point, and moments later, he was joined by Rey, Rose, Finn, and Poe. At first, Ben didn’t answer Poe’s question, instead choosing to listen to BB-8 complain about the sludge he was now rolling through.

“Have you ever stolen a ship?” Ben asked, and his question was almost lost to the squelch of boots through water.

“I have,” Poe affirmed.

“And when you sit in the pilot’s seat of a stolen ship, do you get a sense of the person who was there before you?” Ben’s voice mixed with the light beaming from BB-8 and bouncing off the water making the whole situation feel out of place. That perhaps this was something Ben would discuss with someone who actually wielded the Force. However, Poe understood what Ben was speaking of. There was a feeling that came with sitting in the seat of another pilot. Poe definitely felt it every time he operated the Millennium Falcon.

“I do.”

“The Crown of Alderaan has a history. Every royal, who has ever worn it, has left a piece of themselves on it: their pains and struggles, their worries, and defeats, their joy. One could argue that the galaxy is as the Force wills it to be and that Alderaan’s destruction was just a facet of a greater plan the Force has in store for all of us, but that doesn’t erase the magnitude of energy held in the crown. When my mother found that crown, the amount of upending pain surging from it left her in silence for days. She’d handled it before, but since Alderaan’s end, something changed. Almost as if every bearer of the crown cried out in agony. My mother hid it away for a reason, and since then, no one has touched it.” Poe gritted his teeth when Ben called Leia his mother when he mentioned her in a voice recalling of a time when he had a family, it forced a piercing scream into Poe’s chest. 

“Would you have killed her?” Poe couldn’t summon the strength at the moment to say Leia’s name. All this talk of Alderaan had left him unable to force her name to his mind. The mere hum of the question paused the group. Finn, who was leading the way with BB-8, jerked to a stop and spun to face Ben. Poe kept his gaze on Ben’s long features, his lowered brow, and frown. Rose shook her head, in complete disbelief over the question. Rey was the only one who wasn’t looking directly at Ben, instead, she stepped closer to him in the darkness, making her presence known. When Ben didn’t answer, Poe stepped closer, his light shining upward at Ben’s face. The move was enough for Rey to step between the two and barrel a look of absolute disgust into Poe’s face.

“I almost tried once. I thought I could, and I thought by doing so, I’d solidify myself within the dark side. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t end her life to bolster my fate. No matter the dark’s pull, I could never do it.”

For several moments longer, Ben kept his eyes on Poe, perhaps allowing the general to witness the churning pain captured behind a stare that had seen too much. In unison, Ben and Rey took back their stride and followed BB-8 deeper into the sewer. 

“I hope you’re proud of yourself.” Rose eyed Poe a moment longer, allowing her stare to speak volumes of what she thought of him at that moment before taking up the journey. A heavy wedge split itself in Poe’s chest, and that feeling only got worse when he looked to his co-general to find him shaking his head ever so slightly.

“We’re all sad she’s gone, but…” Finn began only to drop the conversation.

“But what?” Poe whispered. Had he missed something? Had Ben Solo suddenly been turned good sometime between leaving the First Order and coming to Bracca? Had the heavens parted and announced to the galaxy that Ben Solo was forgiven? Had all that happened and somehow he’d missed it?

Finn gestured with his light toward the tall figure and the two women walking by his side.

“That’s Leia’s son, and I think we do ourselves a great disservice when we hurt him. It’s not what Leia would have wanted. She wanted her son back, and now he is, so I think we need to start wrapping our heads around the idea that Ben Solo isn’t going anywhere. That doesn’t mean we have to trust him or befriend him, but it does mean we have to treat him like a human.” 


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben, Rey, and the others try to escape Bracca.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own these characters, the mouse does.

“BB-8 says this is it.” Poe shinned his light up the ascending ladder, trying to find the porthole that would bring them to Base Sixteen.

“So…” Finn began following with his eyes the long line of rungs that disappeared into the darkness far above him.

“If we aren’t able to steal this thing, what next?”

“You all stay behind Rey and I until we figure something out.” Ben offered before heaving the pack containing BB-8 over his shoulder and taking to the ladder. Whistling all the way up, BB-8 saw the lock on the port access before Ben did.

“Well, I suppose it’s a good thing you and I are first.” Ben huffed under his breath before bringing BB-8 as close to the port as possible. Utility arm out, BB-8 made quick work of unlocking the port, allowing Ben to slide it open.

“Ben, what do you see?” Poe asked when Ben seemed to take his time pulling himself to the surface.

“We’re clear.” The rumble of an answer came with Ben hauling himself along with BB-8 to the surface. Scrambling to his feet, Ben surveyed the area counting off the ships one by one. Most were luxury vessels, but a few were built for war, and no doubt were used by the Guavian Death Gang as a way to intimidate their opponents. The darkened base appeared abandoned with not so much as a stowaway womp rat to make noise. In the silence before the others joined him, Ben sensed an extinguished call, something from the past, something repeating itself over and over.

“Hey,” A gentle touch to Ben’s shoulder and the man pulled from his thoughts to find the others ready.

“You ready?” Rey asked. Ben nodded, turned towards the others, but couldn’t shrug the looming call.

“We’re looking for a Nubian royal starship. Polished.” Finn reminded everyone.

“There’s got to be at least fifty vessels in here. We split up. It’ll be quicker.” Rose added. Dividing themselves, Finn and Rose searched the area blocked by a roughed-up TIE fighter while Rey and Ben went in the opposite direction.

“I guess that just leaves you and me, buddy.” Poe glanced down at BB-8, who whistled back in agreeance.

“You don’t like this, do you?” Rey commented on the rigid form of Ben as he sank behind a vessel in an attempt to keep himself covered should anyone notice him.

“I don’t like hiding,” Ben affirmed.

“I wish I could say the same. I’m so used to hiding. It’s like a part of me. I feel in control when I’m hiding.” True to Rey’s own words, the woman had a knack for disappearing. Even in open areas, the woman had a talent for vanishing. A smile crept across Ben’s face, something he tried to hide.

“What?”

“That used to drive me crazy when you’d do that. Disappear. There one moment and gone the next. So many times I had you in focus and…then you’d just vanish.”

“You had nothing.” Rey rolled her eyes, shrugging off the accusation that Kylo Ren had ever been on her heels as closely as Ben claimed to be. The man recalled things differently, but let the scavenger have her way. An unhurried truth slipped into Rey’s mind. There were several close calls with Kylo Ren, and with every passing encounter, it became harder and harder to leave. There was a pull about Kylo Ren, a compelling inhale that surrounded Rey every time she found herself in his presence.

“I think if you had kept it up, I would have left with you eventually,” Rey admitted to herself and to Ben. It wasn’t about a worn soul, it was about the part of Rey that knew Kylo Ren had answers and the ability to help her.

“Yeah, I know.” Ben’s confession oozed from a place in Kylo Ren’s life that was all repetitive solitude and unremitting darkness.

“I would have captured you, had I had the chance, but there was a part of me that knew it would never happen. There’s no keeping you, there’s only allowing you to decide on your own, and that’s what I was waiting for.” The man’s voice dropped to a rustling whisper.

“What would you have done? If I just showed up at the First Order’s door ready to join you…” On the worst of nights, on the nights Rey could bare the war no longer with its constant ability to remind her she was alone and without her parents and by extension a part of her identity, that’s when she’d imagine leaving her room and wandering toward something else.

“I didn’t have much of a plan.” On the other side of the galaxy Kylo Ren waged a kind of warfare that never saw the light of day. A boiling came to his every nerve when he thought of the scavenger, and it all hit the severest pitch when he watched her escape again and again.

“Our connection was more a mystery to me than anything, but I drew to it. I thought you belonged by my side because we were meant to rule the galaxy, and that time was all it would take for you to come to me. There was an ease to you. There would be no need for torture. I wouldn’t have to do to you what Snoke did to me, and since we wouldn’t be sith, you’d never have to kill me.” 

“I’d heard a rumor about you.” A deadly voice mused from behind Ben and Rey. Blaster out, Bala-Tik stood only a couple meters away from the duo. He’d managed to sneak up on them both and now held a black-market blaster in their direction.

“I thought you were dead, Supreme Leader.” The man shrugged, and as he did, the black leather of his outfit glistened. Fresh blood? The Guavian Death Gang was known for its torture tactics. Smiling, Bala-Tik approached Ben Solo, his eyes wavering over the man like he’d just hit the jackpot.

“Never mind what your father owed me. You’re worth more alive…” Bala-Tik paused, sizing up the man before him, before adding “…or dead.”

In a rush, Rey lifted her hand towards the ceiling above and latching her attention on a pierce of pipping, she yanked it from place, causing it to come crashing to the ground. _That should be enough to warn the others_ , Rey thought. The section of pipe caught over two ships, but did its job in distracting Bala-Tik, while Ben and Rey fled.

“What was that?” Finn’s voice came over Rey’s comlink.

“We’ve been sighted,” Rey called back.

With their cover blown, Ben jumped to a ship’s wing and surveyed the base before sighting the silver vessel they’d come here for. “There it is. Towards the west wall.” Ben called to Rey, who repeated the words over the comlink. Feet on the recently waxed base floor, the duo sounded out there stampede with the buzzing call of blaster shots and Bala-Tik’s constant yelling. With plenty of corners to hide behind each turn in the maze of ships brought Ben and Rey in contact with the Guavian Death Gang’s henchmen. Doubled bladed lightsaber out, the sight of Rey tearing a pathway from some old, forgotten folklore was enough for some henchmen to question even attempting a fight. Still, for others, they shot with accuracy, for hitting one of the ships in their care was just as good as a death sentence.

“Here,” Ben called and took cover underneath a freighter with Rey. At the ship’s belly, it allowed the two coverage as they reached The Hind. Already at The Hind’s ramp, BB-8 whistled a hurry up, followed by a stream of warnings.

“Are Rose and Finn with you?” Poe called while the sound of the luxury shuttle’s engine came to life, and activated the cockpit’s blinders to open. 

“No!” Rey called back, eyeing the field of ships seeing no sign of Finn or Rose.

“Oh, no,” Poe muttered at the sight of gang members climbing The Hind’s frame and aiming their weapons at the suddenly visible pilot. 

“We got company!” Poe rang out his warning as he reached to activate the vessel’s secondary shield. It wouldn’t electrify the trespassers as the primary would, but at least it would protect the ship and those inside.

“I see Rose!” Rey called as the woman came running with a fleet of gang members on her heels. With her lightsaber in one hand, Rey extended her free hand and began pulling the ships behind Rose together almost as if they were water flooding the path behind the fleeing woman and taking with it those that followed her. The base erupted into scratching metal and the give of fuel tanks as they pushed into each other and emptied their contents on the ground. Rey knew Rose was in the clear when those that followed her shrugged their determined gazes for a more terrified look. Not wasting a second, Rose pulled from her side a blaster the moment she reached The Hind’s relative safety. Aiming at the second wave of henchmen with Bala-Tik at the head, Rose searched for Finn.

“BB-8, when are you thinking of getting that hangar door open?” Ben asked, not taking his eyes off the dozens of henchmen racing towards The Hind, weapons ready. The droid whistled back in his usual tone, before admitting he might need some help.

“All you had to do was ask,” Ben muttered, raising both hands towards the ceiling. The roar of gears being forced to work against each other permeated the base giving the hopeful escapees a reprieve from the gang’s attention. Like watching an eclipse in reverse, the hangar doors built to accept heavy cruisers slowly opened, allowing in a waterfall of rain and caught water.

“There!” Rose called and pointed towards Finn as he raced and bounded from the back of one ship to the next.

“We need to go!” Poe called out already lifting the ship, open ramp and all, from the ground. Ben caught onto the idea as Poe quickly maneuvered the ship to several meters above Finn. He’d have to jump and leave the rest of the way to someone else. Finn did just that. Leaping from the back of a ship, Finn outstretched his arms, felt a tilt in his stomach as something unseen lifted him rapidly into the air, and then suddenly it was over. Finn felt a grasp around the inside of his upper arm, and so he grabbed back, expecting to take hold of Rey, but instead, he found the unyielding give of someone else. Ben, sure as the hangar door he still commanded to be open, pulled Finn from the ramp’s lip and into The Hind. Ben didn’t leave much time for Finn to comprehend what had just happened, instead, the man redirected his gaze for the heavens and gave a last surge through the Force, thereby fully pushing open the hangar doors and allowing The Hind to escape into a maze of metal and torn ships. 

With the ramp closed and all on board, Poe tipped The Hind toward the only opening he could make of all the jumbled metal.

“This thing has no defensive measures, no compact canon, nothing,” Poe mumbled to himself, skimming his eyes over the cockpit for anything. Already The Hind’s proximity warnings were blaring, The Guavian Death Gang was on them, and they weren’t letting up. Behind The Hind, a growing fleet of Guavian scoutships burst from the ruined hangar doors, their laser canons aimed and ready.

“No defense!” Poe gritted his teeth and prepared for the barrage of oncoming fire. This ship may have been safe when it was in the hands of the Guavian Death Gang, but now that it was stolen, it was a different story. Nearing the only light several hundred meters below a pile of ship trash, Poe dived and avoided the jutting innards of long ago abandoned ships. Missing sharp edges by meters, Poe felt the first set of canon fire hit The Hind.

“Poe, we can’t expose ourselves to the surface. They’ll be more waiting for us up there.” Rey, at Poe’s side, warned of what she knew was waiting, but to the general, there were fewer choices. To every side of Poe the crushed forms of layer after layer of discarded ships only provided darkened tunnels, of which the ends were a mystery. 

“Out of the way, flyboy. The Guavian Death Gang brought friends.” The urgency in Ben’s voice was enough for Poe to give his seat. The flurry of Ben’s hands as he prepared the ship to his liking became a warning to the others; it was time to find a seat and buckle up. As Ben wedged The Hind down a dilapidated tunnel, BB-8 called out a final new piece of information. The Hutts had arrived and with them enough firepower to take down this side of Bracca. 


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lando contacts the others with bad news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own these characters, the mouse does.

“All this for a damn ship!” Finn yelled over his shoulder, his hands gripping the seat while The Hind took another dive into a darkened tunnel. A retired Imperial shuttle with its wings strangled together with a starfighter, and a bomber blocked the ending Ben didn’t see prompting the man to nose The Hind for a ninety-degree fall into an abyss. Darkness wrapped The Hind to the sound of cannon fire missing the ship and striking the platform of a dismantled Star Destroyer in a rain of sparks and flame. At ease with the maneuverability of the yoke, Ben challenged the luxury ship’s shock-absorbing build with quick twists, a couple of backward flips into tunnels blocked by empty fuel lines and pulse tubes. Close calls were lost to more adventurous dares when Ben managed to entwine The Hind among the innards of a TIE, causing the obsolete vessel to collapse behind him and on top of his pursuers.

For the crew, it was a test of keeping one’s eyes open. The tumult of an enemy unwilling to give up forced BB-8 to remain present, but the constant shudder that came with Ben’s flying was a reminder to the droid that at any moment, they could all perish, still, it was thrilling. For Poe, he kept eyes on the layers of trash they were beneath, and depending on the models he saw was able to estimate how far from the surface they were. The older the model, the deeper they were in the junk pile and further away from the sky. 

“Do you have any plans to bring us to the surface?” Poe asked through gritted teeth. Ben’s answer was to push The Hind further into the heap of metal. Rushing towards the empty hull of an AT-AT, Ben twisted The Hind just so to collapse the AT-AT’s frame and block those who remained behind him.

“The surface isn’t going to be much better,” Finn repeated aloud what BB-8 had just told him.

Finding an ascending tunnel, Ben spun The Hind faster and faster before erupting the ship to the surface and allowing the force of the maneuver to gain him speed before taking on the next challenge; the above ground armada of Hutt and Guavian Death Gang ships. Shots rushed through the shadowed sky, scarring the atmosphere in red. Rose swore she could feel the heat from her seat. Pausing for a moment, Ben appeared to size up the fleet giving Poe the impression the man was considering to take them all on with nothing more than a luxury ship.

“You can’t be serious!” Poe nearly ripped his buckle from place, but Ben rushed the ship forward, sending Poe back into his seat. Ben sent the yoke wild as he forced The Hind into the oncoming fire and, with the slightest nudge, dodged each shot. At one point, Rose had no idea how Ben was able to see a single thing with the intense light of firepower blocking out the world. Still, the man chased into the enemy’s hands. Closest to the Hutt’s largest vessel, a pewter, glistening cruiser, Ben flipped The Hind. Back to back with the cruiser, Ben missed the massive vessel by centimeters, but the sudden charge of The Hind’s primary security curtain was enough to outpower that of the cruiser’s lending the larger vessel vulnerable. It would take time for the larger vessels to turn, recoup their damages, and attack The Hind, and by then, it would be too late. Finding the Falcon on the other side of the enemy, the two vessels exited Bracca’s atmosphere.

It took Finn several deep breathes to ward off the building nausea in his stomach, but when he was assured breakfast wouldn’t find its way back up, he looked up to find Ben abandoning his seat.

“All yours.” The man spoke quietly as he passed Poe. Neither weary over the travel nor in need of a break, Ben made his way to The Hind’s main cabin with a request that BB-8 contact Chewie. In the time it took for Finn, Poe, and Rose to collect themselves, Ben caught up with C-3PO on the Falcon, who had heard back from Lando and Maz on Bespin.

“I’m sorry Master Ben, it appears Lando has run into some trouble on Bespin.” Finn heard the droid’s haunted words from the cockpit.

“Does he always fly like that?” Rose, bent over in her seat, asked Rey.

“Not all the time.” The quiet amusement in Rey’s voice caused Rose to look up.

“The next time Poe wants to relay race the x-wings, Ben’s on my team.” Slowly, Rose slouched from her seat and followed Rey into the main cabin, where Ben made final preparations with Chewie to meet them on Bespin.

“The crown?” Rey asked, catching Ben between two heavy thoughts and a course of other concerns.

“It’s not at the museum, as Lando thought it would be. Maz thinks it might be on a Dreadnought above Bespin.” The same inclination in Ben, now surfaced in Rey. The First Order had the crown.

“Why is there a Dreadnought over Bespin?” Finn, hand resting over his stomach and eyes focusing on the very still table in front of him asked.

“Bespin doesn’t want the Dreadnought there, but they’re stuck with it as they aren’t in any shape to fight if off, and the First Order refuses to move it,” Ben answered, sending the table into absolute silence.

“Well, if the First Order doesn’t know you’re alive, they will now,” Rose muttered. Ever since she and Finn managed to gain access to Snoke’s ship, she hated everything about Dreadnoughts. Before DJ and infiltrating a Dreadnought, they were just another vessel, just another thing the First Order used to kill and enslave people and planets, but things changed. All the space on the inside, the sterile smell, the lack of anything organic or the potential for it to exist, made Rose’s stomach churn.

“We’ll make it a quick mission.” Ben’s voice dropped. It was a promise, just as much as a confession. He didn’t want to be on any Dreadnought either.

Aboard the Millennium Falcon, Finn hadn’t had the chance to glance at Bespin’s glorious cloud cover before rushing aboard the Falcon. With Lando and Maz the plan, as Ben had proposed and Rey had amended, was to use The Hind along with Maz’s stolen First Order codes that would allow part of the crew access to the Dreadnought hanging over Bespin. Ben and Rey knew it was a trap and would follow along with an eventual capture.

“Threepio, you’ll have to be captured too.” Rey looked to the droid and moved on with the plan before giving him time to react.

“Along with Artoo.” Rey continued.

“Just us four will be captured. BB-8, you’ll stay hidden until The Hind is clear, then get yourself to the nearest control tower and allow the Falcon in.” The smallest droid beeped back.

“Right, we’ll aim for hangar 22. It’s close to one of the control towers.” Rey affirmed.

“I don’t like this, Rey.” Poe had been listening to the formation of the plan, playing the outline in his head, until he came to the one thing that didn’t measure up; the two strongest fighters separating from the others only to be detained by the First Order purposefully.

“It doesn’t need to be me who goes with Ben, but I’m not letting him go in there without one of us with him.” Rey plucked Poe’s thought from the air. She knew it wasn’t strategic or balanced to send her and Ben into a First Order prison just as she knew she wasn’t letting Ben walk into harm without someone having his back. Subsiding an argument that would only leave him at best with a head wound, Poe raised a hand. Ben’s face remained impassive, but Poe didn’t need the Force to sense the sudden shift from prepared to curious. Rey spent a second assessing the idea of Poe having Ben’s back before moving on.

“All right, Poe and Ben with Artoo, Threepio, and BB-8 will take The Hind.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t let anything bad happen to him.” Poe added. 

“And what happens after you four are captured, and we get on the Dreadnaught? What then?” Finn posed his question from the edge of a table, his blaster in hand as he cleaned it. He’d worked on Dreadnoughts, he snuck onto one with Rose, even with the First Order collapsing under its imperial weight it was never a good idea to underestimate them. 

“By the time BB-8 gets you on the Dreadnought, I’ll have information for you.” The comment didn’t seem to sink in with everyone as they were still trying to figure out how communication would take place if comlinks were confiscated and the droids unable to transfer information.

“If I have information, then Rey has information.” Catching glances slowly warmed to the idea, but still, it was an abyss to attempt to understand what it meant for one human to speak to another through thought alone. 

“How will you get out?” Rose lifted her head from the palms they were resting in. This was risky. The luck involved with getting on the last Dreadnought wasn’t something easily replicated.

“Don’t worry about us. Just get the crown, and we’ll be out of there before you know it.” Rey waited for any other questions before nodding to Ben. Poe unholstered his favorite blaster and handed it over to Finn while Finn handed him a smaller blaster, one that if Poe were lucky, the First Order guards wouldn’t notice hidden beneath his clothing. Taking Rey’s hand, Ben squeezed her fingertips before leaving her with a warm kiss to her cheek. 

“Oh, dear.” Threepio ended the conversation with a shake to his head as he exited the Falcon and followed the other two droids along with Ben and Poe to The Hind.

“All this, and we still have The Boar to worry about.” The idea of Rey having another run-in with the bounty hunter put Rose on edge.

“We’ll deal with him when the time comes.” The older sentient, Maz, spoke with experience. She’d wrestled with her fair share of bounty hunters, and true, The Boar was one of the more heinous ones in recent memory, but still human.

“I’ve sent an old friend to look into The Boar for us.” Maz left the comment with nothing more to add. When she knew something, the rest of them would.

“He has so much…hidden.” Rey felt the words over her lips but hadn’t heard them when they left her. Partially distracted by Ben’s brimming urge to shove Poe into an escape pod, Rey tried to envision The Boar, but like the haze after a nightmare it was becoming harder and harder to recall him.

“The Boar…it’s like his mind is a maze and a battlefield.” Rey rolled the thought out of her head in favor of taking to the cockpit of the Falcon and getting a move on. 


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Poe look for the crown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These character are not mine, they belong to the mouse.

Aboard The Hind Ben watched Poe from the corner of his eye as he prepared the ship. Sensing the man’s displeasure at the idea of him operating the vessel, Ben pulled away from The Hind’s controls. Expanding his arms in welcome of Poe taking his place at the captain’s seat, Ben waited for Poe to speak up.

“Very well, then.” Ben turned back to The Hind’s controls.

“How do you expect to get caught?” Poe asked after a while.

“If this is a trap, they’ll allow us close to the crown. We might even be able to collect it, but they’ll come for me first. Probably try to incapacitate me with an explosion or something.” At Ben’s back, Poe rolled the idea in his head.

“Not much of a plan. I guess you really are like your father.” Ben froze at the mention of Han Solo. Poe watched Ben’s shoulders slouch beneath the dark fabric of his clothes, not Jedi robes, something more akin to what he or Finn wore. Poe didn’t mean to mention the man as a way to incite painful recall within Ben and quickly fussed about finding a different topic.

“Ummm, back on Bracca, all that firepower. Where do you think the cartels got that from?” Taking his time with the answer, Ben lifted The Hind from Bespin and into the scintillating atmosphere of Cloud City. On track to approach the Dreadnought soon, Ben turned to face Poe. Ben’s eyes were dark as the night and somehow incapable of grasping for the light of the vessel, Poe felt a shiver when he thought of a different time he and Kylo Ren were face to face.

“The First Order is broken, but not entirely beaten. There are protocols to follow in the absence of an obvious leader, and one of those options lends a lot of power to cartels like the one the Hutts run. It’s a good sign for the Resistance when the First Order relies on Hutts to enforce some kind of order. The extra weapons came from the First Order, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Hutts are planning their own takeover.” Fingers plucking the armrest of his chair, Ben sat before Poe oblivious to the awkward silence.

“Soooo…I take it there’s no marching into this Dreadnought with you waving your hands around in some sort of show of power? You know, the Supreme Leader is back, everyone tighten up?” Poe desperately wanted the question to soften the air or at least prove to him that Ben Solo had a sense of humor. Either ignoring the subject or perhaps more interested in gaining entrance to hangar 22, Ben turned away from Poe and began inputting the codes given to him by Maz. The Dreadnought slowly became a metallic beast with several wide-open mouths ready to swallow vessels whole, and as The Hind approached, it was allowed entrance, but that allowance came with a shudder as the Dreadnought’s shadow consumed The Hind. Landing The Hind in a near-empty hangar, Ben was the first to move with Poe right behind him.

“Threepio, Artoo, are you both ready?” Ben asked while The Hind’s ramp lowered.

“Yes, Master Ben.” Threepio’s voice wavered. Squatting so that Poe could be closer to BB-8’s height, the man placed a palm over the droid’s round surface.

“You got this BB-8. I’ll see you on the other side.” Poe smiled when the droid beeped back something about having harder assignments than this.

“Sure thing.” Catching the disappearing look of confusion over Ben’s face, Poe cocked his head in slight amusement. 

“What, you never got attached to a droid before?” Ben didn’t answer as the two humans, and two droids crossed the hangar for a service entrance meant for droids only.

“Oh, let me guess, attachment is forbidden for a Jedi padawan?” Poe’s whisper probed while the two kept their backs to a wall as they rounded a corner. Eyeing the next hallway, Ben looked back and forth before closing his eyes for a second and deciding to go right. The Dreadnought hummed with its normal mechanics, but it lacked a bustle or rapid dedication that once existed. Ben wasn’t sure if this was on purpose or a result of a thinning First Order. 

“I never had a droid quite like BB-8,” Ben answered.

“What about Artoo and Threepio? They’re…” Poe glanced back to the golden droid, already showing his overwhelming anxiety with waving arms.

“Special.” Poe decided.

“Threepio and Artoo belonged to my mother and uncle.” That answer used to be an accusation, but time had dulled it to a vacancy, a hollow place in Ben that Poe heard in the man’s voice.

“The next turn will take us to one of the auxiliary halls. It shouldn’t be too crowded.” Ben sensed the lives of those around him. The generals and admirals, the Stormtroopers too. An amalgamation of emotions flowed through the massive vessel. Many still believed the First Order could survive the major loss at Exegol. Some wavered between abandoning the First Order and the fear of being found, and far too many saw the sudden absence of Supreme Leader Kylo Ren as a way to gain ground that would otherwise be off-limits to them. Sifting through so many thoughts, Ben reminded himself that for all the planets in the galaxy, there was nowhere he and Rey could escape to. Brushing the thought from his mind, Ben crossed a hallway with Poe and R2-D2 right behind him and C-3PO, bringing up the rear slowly.

“How do you know where to go?” Poe asked. He’d assumed on The Hind that Ben would have some knowledge of the Dreadnought, definitely more than him, but the ex-Supreme Leader appeared to have a destination in mind rather than wandering around the ship.

“They have the crown in the exchequer. It’s where the First Order would keep items of significance.” Ben no sooner spoke then turned down an empty hallway.

“There’s supposed to be guards at the door,” Ben mentioned.

“Well…you know they’re under new management now.” Poe’s remark came as two Stormtroopers rounded the corner. Pushing C-3PO down the hallway they’d just come, Poe flattened himself against the wall using the same support Ben did to hide behind. A bit of disappointment flooded Poe when he saw the Stormtroopers turn the corner before even passing him and Ben. Out of sight, Ben placed himself front and center at the exchequer’s door. No panel to unlock the gate, Ben knew protocol would be to contact the control tower to gain entrance to a place with so many valuable treasures.

“When I open this door, an alarm will be signaled to the control tower. We’ll have minutes to get what we came for, and as I said, there will be an explosion of some kind.” Poe watched as Ben extended his hand, closed his eyes, and relaxed. Under the ease of meditation, Ben appeared more as Ben and less like the scarred combatant that once terrorized the Resistance. The door slowly parted open as the gears unlocked, revealing the First Order’s dedication to securing the item locked within the exchequer.

“These doors are thick.” Poe touched the open gate and found that if he stretched out his arm, there would still be another meter of door before allowing his fingertips into the exchequer. Dimmed lights gave just enough illumination for the men to see jewel-encrusted treasures, gems by the hundreds, and more encased behind their own glass containers. Once again, Ben stilled himself and waited.

“What is that?” Poe asked of the man’s behavior.

“What’s what?” Ben asked, his eyes closed. To Ben, it appeared Poe had a problem with referring to the Force when it came to him, and it was beginning to annoy Ben.

“What are you doing?”

“The Crown of Alderaan has a signature to it, an energy.” Ben opened his eyes and followed that energy without stopping. At a glass casing held up by a marble shelf, the Crown of Alderaan rested with a shimmer that sent its surroundings bathed in sapphire. Stuck within himself, Ben’s mind flooded with hesitation as he contemplated the many who’d served beneath it. Voices emanated from the crown, declaring a pledge so proud and overwhelming it permeated the darkness of the Dreadnought. The creators of the crown knew what they were doing when they included materials known for their potential at withholding energy, and if the myths were true, it was a Jedi of old who aided in the final product.

“It is how I remember it.” Threepio’s voice ruptured the silence, and at his side, Artoo whistled somberly. Slouching, Ben approached the glass casing, and without touching it dislodge the glass from the shelf it sat on. Reaching for the crown, Ben gave Poe a final look of anticipation before taking the crown in his hand. The shimmering metal became like a freezing flame to Ben’s skin as the voices grew louder. Images of Alderaan coursed through Ben’s mind. Mountains, waterfalls, rivers, smooth buildings, and masses of people who proclaimed the same idea of unity. Ben didn’t hold on to the crown for long and even dropped it before the explosion from beneath the shelf shook him from place. A jolt of energy shot from the explosion and reached the ceiling that began to crumble from above. Pieces of near-black metal fell from so high above, and in the time it took for Poe to lean his head back and assess what to do next, Ben had already flung him and the droids to a spot beneath an unaffected archway. Dust entered the exchequer almost as quickly as a band of Stormtroopers. Poe was detained immediately with the last thing he saw being that of a stun blaster pointed in his direction. 

It was a rare incident when Ben fell victim to a stun attack and having very little experience with it, he was ill-prepared to come to with the taste of metal his mouth and ringing in his ears. At first, a blurred light swept over him, followed by cajoling voices and a few laughs. When he fully came to, he found himself seated at the end of a table in the place the Supreme Leader would take and sitting around the table were a couple of First Order generals, a few Hutts, and at the opposite end, The Boar.

“So happy you could join us, Ben Solo.” The Boar’s smile stretched across his face as he leaned forward. From his side, The Boar removed the Crown of Alderaan and placed it in front of him.

“I thought you might be coming for this.” The Boar watched as Ben realized that his hands were bound behind him. The Boar knew the cuffs wouldn’t hold the man for long, but he didn’t need long to get his message across.

“I have a deal to make with you.” The Boar’s voice dripped with the sound of profit. He was getting paid handsomely to sit in front of Ben and deliver this message. To him, this was the easiest job. The few Hutts present eyed Ben Solo with ownership and hints of glee, still they had some fear in them even if they didn’t realize it. As for the generals, they looked not to be interested in this affair at all. They had greater concerns involving getting as far away as possible from the man they knew to have enough power to kill them without touching them.

 _He doesn’t look like a Supreme Leader to me_. Ben clearly heard the rather loud thoughts of the general sitting next to him.

“The deal is pretty simple.” The Boar’s voice drifted into disgust as he began to focus on Ben Solo.

“The Queen is willing to allow your pardon.” Heavy as stone, the offer did something to Ben’s chest, like a stab between his ribs.

“You can stop the trials now, come with me to see the Queen, and she’ll pardon you.” The Boar’s gaze, disgusted as it was, never looked away from Ben. When Ben didn’t answer, The Boar came to his feet and took the crown in his hands. Thinking quickly, Ben rested his thoughts, ignored the general’s unceasing monologue, and focused on Rey. Touching on her worry for him first was fresh air to him. Feeling him near, Rey responded with her full attention. In an exchange absent of words, Ben affirmed his capture, his position, and that he didn’t know where the droids and Poe were.

“That girl of yours, the Jedi, you could be free with her.” Caught in the shadows of the room, The Boar took on a more mystical appearance reminding Ben too much of his first encounter with Palpatine.

“I’ve been in this business long enough to know that a new life is hard to come by, and that’s what the Queen is offering you, and in exchange, all you have to do is leave.” The Boar rounded the table and began to walk towards Ben slowly.

“You accept this offer, and you can take that general of yours and his droids too.”

“You said we could keep the Resistance general.” One general reached her feet and pointed at The Boar, who ignored her. 

“Forgiveness is yours.” The Boar whispered at Ben’s side and placed the crown in front of him. The Boar only sneered when he looked back to Ben. 

“Here’s the thing, my client wants you out of her way, and she’s willing to make a deal with you that benefits you more than it does her by far.” The boar whispered, and for Ben, it sounded too much in his head. Gritting his teeth, Ben twisted his gaze towards The Boar. The Boar smiled. He’d hoped Ben would see through the guise and say no. Taking the crown back into his hands, The Boar held it up to the nearly extinguished light.

“They say a man like you can see things in old treasure like this one.” The Boar twirled the crown before drifting it just over Ben’s head.

“So, tell me, grandson of Darth Vader, what do you see?” The Boar shoved the crown on Ben’s head and no sooner did the metal touch Ben’s scalp then did the vision of a crumbling world enter his mind. All at once, Ben heard the cries of Alderaan’s people the day the planet was destroyed. The man’s body tensed as if struck by fire, and the air escaped Ben’s lungs with fury. Tilting forward, Ben tried to inhale, but there was no air, only panicked calls and death, so much death. Ben felt fingers in his hair as The Boar pulled his head back and smiled at the single tear racing down Ben’s face.

“There it is.” The Boar prepared to speak again but was interrupted by the sound of blaster fire and the quick shout of Poe entering the room. A smoke grenade hit the floor, filling the room with a thick haze that was soon cut with blaster fire. Taking the distraction, Ben pulled his hands from place and broke the cuffs with ease before reaching for one of The Boar’s weapons. With a revolving blaster in hand, Ben’s first shot was at The Boar, who’d managed to throw himself behind a chair.

“Come on, Ben, we gotta go!” Poe cried out and placed a hand on Ben’s shoulder, pulling him to the nearest exit. Reaching into the smoke, Ben called for the crown only to find it reaching for him as well. 


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey, Finn, and Rose go looking for Ben and Poe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters are not mine, they belong to the mouse.

“Ben has the crown.” Rey’s announcement came as she landed the Falcon in the Dreadnought. Similar to hangar 22, this one had a couple of vessels and was devoid of personnel, but it hadn’t lost its shinning sterility or the way if reflected everything.

“Poe and Ben are together.” An unspoken agreement had come into place once Rey started speaking to Ben. Eyes wide, Rey turned from her seat to stare at the others.

“They’re surrounded.” Taking off from her seat, Rose and Finn followed her.

“Chewie, stay on the Falcon and prepare to take off. Lando, Maz, there’s a couple of sniper blasters in holding. If the Stormtroopers show up, use them.” Rey was outside the Falcon, her hand on her lightsaber with Finn and Rose on her heels.

“This way.” Rey could feel Ben close, could hear his words as if he spoke them in her ear. She knew exactly where to go. Gaining speed, the three raced with weapons in hand down an auxiliary hall with emergency sirens blaring at their every step. The smell of blaster fire reached Rey’s nose, and then came the sound of bolts hitting metal.

“Stop there!” A controlled voice called, and Rey’s immediate instinct was to continue running. She was so close to taking the next turn. Instead, the woman stopped. Rose and Finn paused with her, both perplexed by Rey’s decision to follow the order, but trusting her nonetheless. The clink of something hard hit the floor in the other hallway, and moments later an explosion turned the hall Rey almost ran down black with smoke.

“Turn around with your hands up.” The voice yelled. Inching, the three turned with their blasters and lightsaber held high. Three Stormtroopers moved closer, prepared to rip the weapons from there hands. While Rey sifted through ideas, she heard Finn speak up.

“You don’t want to do this.” Finn’s voice, his unblinking attention, and somber expression, if the Stormtroopers would just look at him, they’d reconsider. One Stormtrooper lowered his weapon, but the other two pressed closer to the intruders.

“I was like you once.” A calm washed over Finn. He wasn’t afraid of what would happen next. He had hope.

“I fought like you.”

“Shut up!” Two of the Stormtroopers remained in their place, intrigued by Finn’s words while the third reached to take Finn’s weapon from his hands. Finn couldn’t see the man’s eyes, but he tried anyway to find them behind his helmet. The third Stormtrooper paused with his hand on Finn’s nearly surrendered blaster. 

“You are free,” Finn spoke it like an endearing promise.

“We just came from hangar 20. There’s a couple of shuttles in there and no one to stop you. Grab a few of your friends and get out of here. Just don’t go near the freighter, our friends wouldn’t be too happy to see you.” Finn couldn’t see the expression on the man’s face, but he could feel something. Perhaps the man remembered his youth, his childhood, or something he hadn’t thought of in a long time. Whatever memory it was, it became clear once again. The mar of blood from so many killed combatants was washed away, and for the first time, the man saw his life.

“Why are you doing this?” A crushed voice asked, and the Stormtrooper lessened his hold on Finn’s blaster.

“Because somebody did it for me once.” Finn swallowed hard but didn’t look away from any of them. The three Stormtroopers exchanged glances before nodding and turned away from Finn. They ran faster than they’d ever managed to before, faster than if a rancor were chasing them. For the first time in their adult lives, they weren’t running into battle they were running for freedom. Finn watched them run until a soft hand on his shoulder brought him back to the present. Rose was all too familiar with the voice Finn reserved for fellow Stormtroopers. To her, it was the most beautiful act to watch someone she loved not be pushed into violence, but instead, use their words to convey a message no war or loss of life was capable of bestowing. A gentle caress at Finn’s cheek, and he smiled at Rose.

“Come on, Finn,” Rose spoke quietly. The three hustled around the corner, jumping over the puddles of fire and debris before running headlong into the ensuing battle. Behind a row of Stormtroopers, Rey pushed them to the ground while Rose and Finn ran past them and further down the hall. Taking her place before the dozen or so Stormtroopers, Rey ignited her lightsaber and bounced off the barrage of fire headed her way. Backing up to where Rose and Finn stood at a doorway, Rey pushed those Stormtroopers who’d managed to find their feet back a second time as Rose closed and locked the gate. Finding themselves behind another row of Stormtroopers, Rey began pulling one Stormtrooper at a time from battle formation and bounced them off the wall until they got the idea and stayed down. When more of the Stormtroopers became privy to the intruders behind them, they turned and opened fire.

“There’s more of them!” One yelled to the others.

“We need to get past this next gate and lock it. That’s where Poe and Ben are with the droids.” Rey called to Rose and Finn. One by one, the Stormtroopers fell to the ground and created a pathway for the three to pass through and lock another hallway door. Back to running, the three prepared to turn a final corner but nearly clashed with a couple of Stormtroopers who were running away while another was pushed down the long hallway, almost knocking the three to the ground.

“I think we found them,” Rose called. Around the corner, Rose caught site of Poe grabbing C-3PO and pulling him down another hallway. Catching sight of Rose, Finn, and Rey, Poe yelled to them. 

“Glad you guys finally found us! Let’s go!” Poe’s voice roared. Sliding down the hallway with their weapons ready, Rey, Finn, and Rose hid in the same corridor as Poe. Shutting the gate closed, Poe fell into his old habit of counting his people. Backs against the wall, the human components of the team caught their breath while the droids convened. Wiping the blood from a wound on his brow, Poe remembered the blaster shot Ben took to the shoulder while covering his back. Eyeing the injured, Poe found Rey’s hands already dabbed with Ben’s blood as she pressed her touch to Ben’s wound. Through the seared puncture in Ben’s shirt, Poe watched the blood recede, the flesh pull together, and Ben heave in relief. The shinning abyss of the ship’s walls seemed to absorb Ben, make him nearly concealed. In fact, to Poe, it was only Rey’s hand on Ben’s cheek that set him out.

Noting the crown tied to Ben’s belt, Poe glanced back to Ben’s face. Blemished with a pain having nothing to do with flesh, Ben panted in a way that made Poe think Ben was suffocating on air itself. Slowly, Rey broke from Ben’s gaze and drifted her hand to the crown Ben purposefully kept as far from his flesh as possible. Before Rey’s finger could touch the metal, Ben blocked the touch and instead held Rey’s hand. 

“Master Poe! R2-D2 has some information that he feels would be beneficial to our getting out of here.” Threepio announced.

“Go ahead, Artoo.” Poe grabbed Finn’s shoulder on his way to Artoo, and as their eyes met, Poe thanked Finn.

“It appears some of the Stormtroopers have absconded from the First Order and are fighting to create a pathway with which we can escape by.” Poe smiled at the announcement and glanced back at Finn.

“You’re handy work?”

“You know it,” Finn affirmed.

“All right. The Falcon and The Hind are in separate hangars. Rose and Rey, why don’t you two take the air ducts and head over to hangar 22. The rest of us will make our way to the Falcon.” Not wasting another minute, Rey grabbed for the grate covering an air duct and pulled with the Force before jumping into it. Leaning over the edge, Rey offered her hands to a Rose held up by Finn. With the two gone, the rest of the group scrambled for the Falcon

“I’ve always hated the smell of these things,” Rey called back to Rose while she crawled.

“The Imperial air ducts I crawled through on Jakku always had the scent of burnt food in them. It made my stomach ache.”

“It makes sense. When the Empire would capture a Rebellion hideout, they always made sure to confiscate their portion supplies. They used to keep it for themselves, but after some of their Stormtroopers wound up dead, they figured out that the Rebels were purposefully poisoning the portions knowing the Empire would take them. After that, the Empire started burning all the portions, whether they were from Rebel bases or not.” Rose explained. 

Stopping as if she heard something, Rey swung around with her face in absolute disgust.

“That is such a waste!” Scoffing, Rey refocused her attention while mumbling something about ‘a good meal gone to waste.’

Once over the hallway leading to hangar 22, Rey kicked out a grate and surveyed the area before hopping from the vent with Rose behind her.

“No one is here.” Rose commented as she and Rey hid behind some supply crates on their way to The Hind.

“I say we make a run for it from here.” The two women nodded in agreement before taking off for the polished ship. A building hope flourished as Rey reached The Hind. This was it. After this trial there would only be a few left, and then Ben would be free to go. When a searing pain captured Rey’s shoulder, the woman had little context for what could have caused it. No ruckus of a blaster shot, but there was blood beginning to pour from the wound. In a snap, Rey turned to find The Boar standing a couple of meters away, his blaster out with a silencer attached to it. How long had he been following them? Rey placed herself in front of Rose and whispered under her breath for her to get on the ship.

“I’m not leaving you,” Rose whispered back.

“I need you on the ship so you can get it ready.” Reluctant, Rose backed away from Rey and up The Hind’s ramp. The man standing before Rey cocked his head while a well-practiced anger dripped into his eyes, settled along his cheeks, and plucked at his lips. The Boar smiled, but that smile was concentrated venom he wished so badly to use against Rey. Lightsaber at her side, Rey knew she could beat the next shot, but what then? Rey had the upper hand this time. It was a bounty hunter against a very powerful Jedi, what could this man possibly have planned? Gritting her teeth, Rey raced for her lightsaber, and sure enough, The Boar shot several times with each shot one Rey was able to dodge. With the bright yellow of Rey’s lightsaber piercing the darkness of space behind her, the Jedi launched herself at The Boar, her cries a testament to the pain he’d put her through.

The Boar laughed before throwing his weapon to the side and igniting the cuff flame at his wrist. Fire poured from The Boar’s hidden weapon at his wrist as he directed the heat towards Rey. The woman flipped back, then bounced from the floor to high into the hangar before landing behind The Boar. Raising her lightsaber high, Rey brought it down on The Boar only for him to catch the blade with an electrified baton he kept at his side. Twirling back, Rey launched herself once more at The Boar, who seamlessly hit her at her wrist, leaving Rey to drop her lightsaber. On her knees, Rey grasped her injured wrist. Anger surged through the woman creating a second battle. One battle was on the outside with The Boar, and the second was within. Gritting her teeth, Rey’s mind flashed with the awful images of what The Boar had released from her memory. Rey pushed back against the memories and sucked down a breath of air.

“You…” Rey watched The Boar step closer.

“You hate the Force.” The accusation was one The Boar had heard before and one he never tired of hearing. The Boar came closer, the baton in his hands on full power and strong enough to end the life kneeled before him. Looking down at Rey, The Boar smiled and whispered. 

“ _Hate_? No, I don’t hate it.” The Boar’s words fell into something more abysmal than space. 

“The Force is a curse in my life. The very thing I live to detest, and as for its followers, I take great joy in seeing their end.” The Boar lifted the baton high above Rey’s head and bringing it down the only thing he felt in that moment was the sterling cry within the invisible energy as if the Force itself were bent back in agony. An explosion of light encompassed the hangar. The Boar had never seen such a thing happen when he killed a Force-sensitive. Pressure against the baton’s end, as if someone were holding it, pushed against him. When the light subsided, The Boar had no option other than to fall his gaze into that of the Jedi’s. Her eyes empurpled with the glow from the baton, the woman held tighter to the baton’s end, taking in the electricity with short and trembling jolts to her body. Coming to her feet, Rey pushed the baton back, sending The Boar flying backward. Gathering herself with long, deep breaths, Rey reached a hand out and called to her ligthsaber. The Boar wasn’t dead and it was near impossible for Rey to look away from his prone body. She could end him. She could do it right now. Her lightsaber ignited, Rey moved closer to the still body.

“No.” Rey said to herself.

 _If I do this, it will do nothing for me_ , Rey thought. She turned towards The Hind and ran. 


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben, Rey, and the rest of the crew return to Tatooine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your patience! Also, I'm not sure how long this story is going to be. I have a few more chapters to put together, so I'm guessing the entire story will be just short of 100,000 words. That's just a guess, though. One more thing, I have a few ideas for what to write next, but I haven't settled yet. I have one story I'm super eager to write, but I think it'll be much better if I give myself some extra time with it and then the other one is just a short story maybe 20,000 words or so. Thank you so much for the kudos and comments! I have a few comments to get to and I will as soon as I find the time.   
> These characters don't belong to me, they belong to the mouse.

The dimming blue of a hologram bathed Queen Carise’s face as she watched the bruised bounty hunter speak with a croaking voice. With each passing moment, the Queen listened to The Boar’s concealed failure, and she grew more enraged. Seething in a hiss of air, the Queen flattened her hands against her gown.

“So, you’re telling me that he got away, and you weren’t even able to handle the girl?” Like a predator adhered to the behavior of its prey, the Queen watched The Boar for the slightest hint of weakness. A misplaced gesture, a squint to the eye, anything to denote his belief in himself. There was nothing. This was no failure in The Boar eyes. He’d simply been put in a situation to gain more knowledge of his opponent. 

“I have something.” The Boar’s voice dragged over a bloody mouth.

“What is it?” The Boar answered by lifting a cloth marred with something. Unimpressed, the Queen waited for some description of what The Boar held in his hand like a grail.

“I got the Jedi’s blood. I have an associate from Mandalore who can use this to our advantage.”

“Biological weaponization.” The Queen surmised.

“Exactly.” The Boar, having reassured the Queen of his capabilities, cut his transmission with her leaving the woman to the dark of her empty fortress. Looking to the glass ceiling above her absent of moonlight or any celestial beam, the Queen laughed to herself. This was it. This was how she would win and never be dethroned. 

“You should have seen it!” Rose exclaimed over the push of steam billowing from the tea Lando made for her and the others. Gathered in the main hold of the Falcon after a quick meet up on Bespin, Lando spent little time looking over the crew before declaring it was time to rest. Not for long, Lando made sure to add once he saw the look of defiance cross Poe’s face, but a _little_ rest was something none of them would fight against. Rey and Ben would fly The Hind to their next destination while the others remained on the Falcon. The question of where to go came with an easy answer. Lando was sure Ben and Rey wouldn’t mind sharing their home on Tatooine for a couple of days while they gathered themselves. With the mere idea of rest came a sudden surge of lively storytelling.

“The Boar was standing over Rey, that baton of his…it was like from the cockpit I could feel the energy. There was a buzz to the air, and then The Boar just hit Rey, or at least I thought he did. Something from the worst lightning storm I ever witnessed was in that hangar. The whole place was light, and then it waned, and there was Rey…she had the end of the baton in her hand and was just holding it like it wasn’t killing her.” Rose wrapped the blanket around her shoulders tighter. Staring off beyond Poe, Maz, Finn, and Chewie, who sat around her, Rose nodded to herself. Gathered features in the form of brimming, pearl tears, and a smile glazed with disbelief, and hope touched the woman.

“She just didn’t give up.” And after a moment, Rose added, “You should have seen the look on The Boar’s face…he wasn’t ready for her. I don’t know what the deal is with that guy, but if he was a disbeliever in the Force before, I don’t think he is anymore. I think Rey changed his mind.”

With the cockpit lights of The Hind turned down, leaving only the controls and far off stars as a source of light, Rey and Ben entered hyperspace and for the first time since leaving Bespin collected themselves. Head hung low Ben was thankful he’d left the crown in Lando’s hands before boarding The Hind with Rey. Running a hand through her hair, Rey swore she still felt hints of electricity captured in her locks. There was a blister on her hand where she’d grasped the baton’s end, and her joints ached with too much spent too soon. Fingers tracing the blister, Rey closed her eyes and thought of The Boar. For the briefest moment, she was in his head, and after he thought he’d killed her, it was like The Boar lowered his defenses, and she was able to see more clearly what was in his head.

“He’s Force-sensitive.” Rey murmured. In The Hind’s low light, Ben caught the gentle glaze of Rey’s eyes and then saw the wound digging into her palm. Offering his own palm, Ben watched Rey observe the blister once more as if it spoke of some future neither of them were privy to before. When Rey placed her hand, palm up, into Ben’s, he rested his fingers over the burn and watched as the flesh pulled together and became healthy once more. There was a warmth that came with wounds healed like this, Rey mused. As if she’d fallen asleep beneath an afternoon breeze, Rey’s entire being soothed with a welcomed radiance that chased the ache of The Boar’s attack far from her. 

“The Boar hates us because he is us,” Ben commented.

“Do you think he knows?” Rey asked. Ben kept his eyes on Rey’s palm, brushing over the small gives in the skin with his fingertip.

“If he does, he’s shoved that part of himself so deep he would never admit to it.” The answer came as an echo—a reverberating pulse from the past. There was once a time in his own life that Ben thought if he’d just never used the Force, then no harm would ever come to his family. Resting in his seat, Ben didn’t mind so much the chill of The Hind. Pulling herself together so that she could wrap her arms around her legs, Rey looked out into the blue rush of hyperspace before looking back at Ben to watch the light dance over his features.

“What is it about this vessel that’s calling to you?” Rey almost asked the question back on Bracca, but they’d been interrupted by other dealings. Ben didn’t blink, his eyes didn’t scurry over the hold of travel, he remained impassive, but within himself, Ben shared the inklings of familiarity the vessel carried with Rey. A hitch to Rey’s mind begged her to close her eyes, and when she did a blinking, blurred reckoning stained her thoughts. Within The Hind, Rey swore she heard a woman’s gentle tone. Authoritative, but kind and composed, forgiving, and yearning for good. A comfort to hear, and when it touched Rey’s mind fully it became like an oasis. This ocean of the past flowed through Rey, and slowly a person appeared in her thoughts. Amber eyes, hair like her own but held in an intricacy that whispered royalty, these were just features that covered a soul dedicated to compassion.

“She looks like Leia.” Rey opened her eyes to find tears resting on her cheeks and on Ben’s.

“She’s my grandmother. This ship was used by her at some point.” Ben’s voice was far off as he replayed, again and again, the memory this ship carried.

“She loved your grandfather very much.” Rey didn’t need to close her eyes to feel the woman’s love for her husband.

“I wonder when her love stopped being enough for Anakin Skywalker?” Ben found himself caught between completely understanding and lost for words. Ben knew the dark side. He’d lived it, and at one point, given everything to it up to and including his father. When Ben asked ‘when did love stop being enough’ he recalled Han.

“The dark side isn’t about love.” Ben reminded himself.

“It’s manipulation and anger.” But still, those words weren’t enough to bring back Han Solo or Padme Amidala.

“You’re right, but you have to ask yourself where would I be if we never met. We didn’t exactly get off on the right start, but a lot of things had to fall in place just right for us to meet. You realize I would have never left Jakku. Maz gave me the first bit of real advice I needed to hear, but her words alone wouldn’t have kept me from returning and waiting for the rest of my life for my parents.” In a flash, Ben’s mind turned over to Takodana, to the forest, and seeing Rey in person for the first time.

“And it was Luke Skywalker that saved Darth Vader. All the tiny pieces of fate that had to come together to make that happen are infinite.” Rey watched as the galaxy outside slowed, and Tatooine appeared as a windswept ball in the middle of nowhere. Almost about to speak, Ben paused as an incoming message blinked.

“This should be good.” Ben mumbled. He knew it wasn’t Queen Carise, but still, the message was from Birren. Allowing the message, a short, blue hologram of the woman who offered to help Rey and Ben appeared. The old woman smiled as she looked from Ben to Rey and then back to Ben.

“I’m glad to see you are both alive and well.” A hint of sadness reached the woman’s eyes, and before it could make its way to her lips, she moved on.

 _She knows this ship_ , Ben thought. 

“I heard a rumor you’d successfully retrieved The Hind.” The woman prompted.

“We also have the crown and the box,” Ben confirmed.

“Very good. I’m sure you already know this, but I’d like to recommend that you do not return these items to the Queen until your trials are done. The Queen has a way of making her staff believe whatever she wants them to believe. I would also like to add that as you complete these trials with success, the Queen will become more and more hostile. I’ve heard rumors of her hosting unsavory individuals in private meetings during odd hours. Ben, she doesn’t want you to succeed. I’d suggest your next trial be the one that brings you to my home planet, Naboo.” The woman flashed a small smile.

“Sure. I’ll have Naboo be our next stop.” Ben spoke up after a moment.

With the binary sunset casting Tatooine in a tide of pure orange and gold, the crew aboard the Millennium Falcon didn’t wait for their hosts to arrive before delving into the homestead. Hoping to have some meal together before Ben and Rey arrived, Rose took to the pantry, searching for anything she could brush together with the supplies from the Falcon. Finn and Poe wandered the homestead with C-3PO in tow. For the first time, the old droid found himself listened to while he filled Poe and Finn in about the previous home of Luke Skywalker before he was ever known as a Jedi. At the apex of the homestead, Threepio’s commentary abruptly halted, causing Poe and Finn to turn back to the distracted droid.

“You okay, Threepio?” Poe asked, not entirely interested in talking the droid out of his otherwise emotional state.

“I do believe I am.” The golden droid looked from Poe to Finn before gesturing to somewhere beyond the sunset.

“I was just thinking about Master Luke. He was so young when we first met, younger than even you, General Finn. I can’t help but sometimes think that it was Artoo and I that brought harm to his aunt and uncle. If Luke’s uncle had never purchased us, if I had never insisted that Artoo be purchased as well that day, then perhaps things would have gone much differently.”

“I don’t think so, Threepio.” Finn shook his head, trying to envision a young Luke Skywalker wandering the moisture farm.

“If you’d never come here, then Luke may have very well never left Tatooine, and then what? The Empire would still be here. Darth Vader would still be alive.” Finn offered before the sound of an approaching shuttle caught their attention. The Hind, overpowered with the sunset’s intensity, the vessel became like a third sun in the sky as it approached the homestead.

“It’s not in me to express my opinion-“ Threepio began.

“Sure, it isn’t,” Poe added.

“But…I do believe things are going to change for the galaxy.” When the droid didn’t elaborate, Poe inquired what he meant, hoping he wouldn’t regret it if the answer turned out to be a soliloquy that would drive the three well into the night.

“Master Ben isn’t like his uncle. He isn’t like his grandfather, either.”

“What do you mean?” Finn asked.

“Master Luke never fell to the dark side, and Darth Vader never returned long enough from the Empire to attempt to correct his misdeeds. Master Ben, once fallen now risen, could achieve what Darth Vader, what Anakin Skywalker could have and with a knowledge that Master Luke never fully attained. I am a protocol droid. I’m fluent in over six million forms of communication, and that includes the many cultures that come with language. It is uncanny how many species across the galaxy proclaim the rising of the sun in the same manner they do a lost child. Only those who have ventured into the darkness are capable of hosting such a light as powerful as a star.”

Once dinner was finished, the crew spread out between the Falcon and the homestead in search of a place to rest. With the suns nearly gone and all their light just enough to dot the far off horizon of Tatooine with a deep green, Rey left her bedside game of Sabacc with Finn and Rose to journey outside. Tatooine’s cool touch wasn’t enough for Rey to go back for a blanket, especially when her bare feet felt cradled by the warm sands. Above the homestead, she found Ben with his legs tucked underneath the rest of his body, and his hands gently settled in his lap. Sensing the utter stillness breathing through the man, Rey sat behind him, knowing it might be another hour before he undid himself from meditation.

With a small smile, Rey recalled a time, not so long ago, when she and Ben had only been reunited briefly. When Ben had healed enough from his wounds and could walk, he meditated in the same place he was now twice a day, sometimes more. It intrigued Rey that he could remain so still and so silent for bouts of time that allowed the suns to rise and fall, but nonetheless to feel the homestead turn from a place of unfamiliarity to one of endearing unity was a gesture Rey would always treasure.

“There’s something on Naboo. More than a trial.” Ben’s voice was almost no match for the breeze. Allowing his legs from underneath himself, Ben turned to sit in front of Rey. 

“I saw you talking to C-3PO at dinner. What’s the next trial?” Rey eyed Ben in the moonlight, his dark clothes absorbed any light, but his hands, face, and bare feet glowed a soft blue like the sky above. Offering Rey the smallest of smiles, Ben’s amusement floated in the Force.

“Nerf herding.” At first, Rey thought it was a joke, but underneath Ben’s amusement, there was the solid truth. They were going to Naboo to herd Nerfs.

“Nerfs?” Rey had never seen a nerf, let alone had to herd one.

“Why?”

Ben shrugged, uninterested with the reason why and more thankful that this trial was one he could manage without the threat of The Boar. “If I had to guess, I’d say it’s Queen Carise’s way of reminding me that she’s above the House of Organa.”

“She isn’t.” Rey contended.

“What do you think is waiting for us on Naboo?” Ben more watched the way Rey’s lips formed the question than anything else. After a moment, when he didn’t answer, Rey shook her head and asked again.

“Naboo?” Ben asked himself.

“I don’t know exactly, but I’d say it has something to do with my grandmother.” A new kind of silence followed Ben after he spoke of Padme. Rey felt it as clear as Ben did, a ripple in the Force, something old and hurting.

“Palpatine was born there too.” The same kind of silence, but somehow colder than even the desert during the night. Ben hated saying the man’s name, he hated what it made him feel in the Force, and hated even more what it did to Rey. Eyes fixed on the dark blue line of the horizon, Rey considered the truth that she may never find a place in this entire galaxy that has never been touched by Palpatine or his rule.

“Do you ever think that if things had been different; if Anakin never fell to the dark side and instead stayed with his family and raised Luke and Leia, if Han found his way to your mother, and by some miracle they still had you, and you had no reason to go to the dark side because Snoke never existed because Palpatine never wished for power…if my parent’s never left me…” Rey trailed off, already feeling the turn of sorrow insider her. A breeze captured some sand and across the horizon made it dance like pieced together person. It was nights like this on Jakku that made Rey think her parents were coming back for her. It was nights like this that made it hard to sleep because doing so meant missing her only chance at a family.

Starved warmth at Rey’s cheek was enough to bring her back to the present. Face to face with Ben, his hands reaching from her cheeks to her hair, the moonlight of her eyes capturing the pure darkness of his, and it was unmistakable the horizon Rey held to in Ben’s mind. While the horizon of Rey’s childhood was devoid, the horizon she shared with Ben was full and somehow capable of containing more.

 _We would have met no matter what_ , Ben’s voice spoke as if from the sky, but Rey knew it was in her head.

 _We would have met no matter what_ , Rey repeated. 


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben gets a surprise message + some fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the patience while I answer comments. Things are a little busy right now, but I fully plan on wrapping up this story I just gotta get some rest into my life while I do it. Thank you all for the hits, kudos, and comments. All of you are incredible! 
> 
> These characters don't belong to me, they belong to the mouse.

“Master Ben.” Ben got the sudden feeling this wasn’t the first time his name was called. Softly asleep in his bed with a snoring Rey next to him, Ben wanted to believe C-3PO wasn’t standing at the doorway of his and Rey’s room while the droid attempted to rouse him from sleep. Threepio’s warbling voice begged for forgiveness, and Ben forced himself to appreciate the fact that the droid hadn’t been standing over him when he tried to wake him. Propping himself up with his elbow, Ben said nothing to the droid and allowed him to speak.

“Master Ben, I apologize for the hour, but there is an urgent message from Queen Carise.” Ben nodded once, and like being relieved from the heaviest burden the galaxy could possibly put on his shoulders, C-3PO left the threshold and waited outside. Removing his left arm from underneath Rey’s neck, the one she’d commandeered sometime in the night, Ben rolled out of bed without disturbing the woman from rest. A hiccup in her snores noted Ben’s sudden departure, but otherwise, Rey remained fast asleep and with most of the blanket encircling her body. Outside, Tatooine’s night betrayed nothing of what was happening only a few kilometers away, and from the base of the homestead’s courtyard, Ben couldn't see the rising smoke from such a distance; still, there was a hum in the Force. Soft but persistent.

Artoo, just as perturbed by the late-night call as Ben was, offered no words of greeting before bringing up the well-slept form of Queen Carise. In the silence of the night, the woman assessed Ben. Obviously, from the messy hair to the under tunic he wore with little regard for who was standing in front of him, he’d been asleep. Queen Carise almost allowed a flinch from within herself when she met Ben’s roaring attention, silent, waning patience, but very much focused on the Queen.

“You’re on Tatooine.” The Queen accused. Of course, Ben wasn’t in trouble for the pause taken to rest, but the Queen wanted Ben to know she knew far more about him than he did about her. Ben didn’t speak; he neither denied nor affirmed.

“Well, I have something I want to add to your trials.” Queen Carise began, and as if completely uninterested, she unfolded her hands from in front of her and took bits of her ebony hair between her fingers and admired the shine beneath Birren’s sunrise. In truth, the Queen was deeply interested in keeping Ben on Tatooine for as long as possible while she gave The Boar as much time as he needed to pull together the last bits of his final plan.

“Don’t worry, it won’t be too much,” The Queen smiled. From across the galaxy, Ben remained impassive as he tried to piece together why the Queen was trying to delay him. Sure, a pardon from Birren would certainly put Queen Carise in a terrible spot with her constituents, but something else tugged at Ben’s mind, demanding his attention. Annoyed, the Queen cocked her head when Ben didn’t answer.

“What can I do?” Ben asked.

“It occurred to me that I owe Tatooine a favor.” The Queen smiled deeply.

“There’s a nearby village in need of your assistance, and I’ve gladly offered it to them.” Ben fussed in his mind over the closest village.

“The nearest village to where I am would be a Tusken Raider village,” Ben said.

“During _your_ war,” The Queen hissed out her accusation, “The First Order dropped a bull rancor on an unsuspecting Tusken Raider village. It’s still there to this day, and it still wreaks havoc on the people.

“You say you’ve offered them our help, but to my understanding, the Tusken Raiders rarely, if ever, accept help from outsiders.” _There it is_ , Ben thought. _She’s sending me in circles, wasting my time, but why?_

“Ben Solo, are you saying the people of that village are not worthy of your help? What would your mother think?” Queen Carise smiled again when Ben lowered his head. The transmission was cut, and Artoo whistled something about going with Ben to which Ben answered with a quick ‘no thank you.’

“Stay here and rest. When the others wake up, tell them where I’ve gone.” Ben mumbled before heading back to his room.

Quietly and with more stealth than Ben showed in battle, the man collected some clothes and found his blaster, but any wish to not wake Rey was soon lost when the woman turned on the light. Sitting up in bed, her hair pushed in all directions and her eyes barely able to open against the dim light, Rey said nothing but inquired within herself about what Ben was doing. Ben felt the woman’s questions, but those were easily shelved or rather utterly forgotten when he glanced up from his boots to find Rey cloaked it the room’s light. Rey’s freckled shoulders and chest caught the glow and left her softened, tan skin radiating. The slack undershirt Rey often wore to bed casted a revealing shadow in the room’s light, and the questioning smile she donned for Ben left the man in a hopeless state if he were ever going to leave the room.

Catching Ben’s unblinking stare and slightly agape mouth, Rey laughed to herself. Pulling the blanket back, Rey welcomed the almost fully dressed man back to bed. More perturbed now than ever, Ben reflected to Rey what had just happened.

“Queen Carise.” Rey was the first to speak.

“Yeah.” Ben latched his boots, daring not to look back up should Rey make a second offer.

“All right,” Rey huffed, already sending her mind to other places if only to remind herself that there were beaches and forests somewhere in the galaxy, and it was possible to go to them with Ben. Pushing the blanket from her body, Rey smiled at the idea of her and Ben far from Queen Carise, in a place the Queen could never reach them. Getting out of bed, Rey picked around the room for something more suitable to wear.

“You don’t have to go with me. It’s just a single rancor.” Ben spoke as if Rey were still sleeping, and the light wasn’t on, and she wasn’t already looking for her clothes. Rey’s answer came in the form of her pulling her shirt off and standing half-naked in the middle of the room, a move that left Ben with a better understanding of what it meant to be thrown off guard, something that when it came to the battlefield was a near-impossible feat to do.

“What is that thing that married people go on after the wedding?” Rey had heard of the word before, but it was one that didn’t have the possibility of realating to her until recently. Pulling her clothes on, Rey located her boots and lightsaber, all the while waiting for Ben to answer. It wasn’t until Rey pulled her hair back and away from her face did she realize that the question had gone unanswered for several moments and that a change in the air left the room feeling heavier and less breathable.

“Honeymoon,” Ben uttered the word like he was mentioning the dreaded fate of a beloved friend. Ben’s subdued tone now turned darker, more saddened, and listless. Hands-on her hips, Rey watched Ben in the room’s single light. A brow almost too much to resist gave way and dipped into darkest eyes that moored to more than what was in front of him. Within himself, now and for always, according to Ben, was the rearing of a beast, a hollow voice that proclaimed him unworthy. Rey thought she heard the voice, a mix of Palpatine and Snoke with Vader’s sincerest hate simmering beneath it.

“Stop,” Rey whispered and crossed the room to bring Ben’s head up and level with hers.

“You bring light into this world, Ben Solo, don’t let a single voice from the past tell you otherwise.” Thumbs caressing his cheeks, Rey waited for the give in Ben’s eyes, the one she knew to mean that the voices had subsided, and he was listening fully to her. Wrapping her arms around Ben’s waist, Rey laid her head on the man’s chest and counted off the heartbeats she heard. His voice, more a rumble now, reminded Rey of what had brought them to this in the first place.

“Where do you want to go?” Ben asked. Smiling to herself, Rey thought of green and blue, of a place breathing with life and beauty.

 _You’d have to marry me first_ , Rey thought, and whether the thought reached Ben in the form of words or images was a mystery to the woman, but nonetheless, the man pulled Rey closer.

“I’m sure the Force has already done as much,” Ben whispered, still in awe of everything the Force had breathed into the galaxy, especially the connection he and Rey shared. Sinking his words somewhere close to his heart and next to his mind, Ben answered Rey. Eclipsing oaths and forever years, surpassing joys and freefalling embraces, touches of places Rey had never been and everything Ben wanted to show her, along with rushing laughter and good words Rey had never heard Ben say passed through Rey as air, cool and filling. A light so warm encircled Rey, and it was as if she were standing in a place made purely of stars and moons. Ben’s promise, his most vulnerable vow to her, came and remained with Rey. More than a ring or tossed words spoken by an officiate, Ben promised his union with her and, in fact, sunk the will so deep within himself that if the trials became his fated end, then it would be Ben’s vow to Rey that would bring him back to life.

“When this is all said and done…” Ben whispered in Rey’s ear, and Rey held tight to such a will as the one she shared with Ben. 


	37. Chapter 37

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey help the Tusken Raiders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters don't belong to me, they belong to the mouse.

A line of orange brimming into pure white at the center became Ben’s focus as he sank himself into the Force. Crossing the desert towards the coordinates left to him by Queen Carise, Ben collected the many wandering emotions of the villagers; fear, dread, sadness, agony, and now anger as the armed men of the village quickly approached the arriving duo. The fire spread out from one end of the village to the next, that much Rey could tell from where she stood. Mounds for homes now gusted with flames as children yelled for their parents. Together Rey and Ben raised their hands high towards the sky, attempting to steady the irate villagers and acknowledge the fact that they did not come here to fight. For a moment, neither the Tusken Raiders nor Ben and Rey said anything. The men surrounded them, about ten or so, with their gaffi sticks pointed towards them. There must have been an ease in the Force that night as the group of men suddenly calmed enough for Ben to feel as good a time as any to speak. Ben’s Tusken was weak at best as he signaled to the supposed leader of the group in slow, purposeful movements meant to communicate his and Rey’s intent.

The leader, covered in ash, took his time considering the man before him, the man who offered his help. The leader signaled back with deep growls. His distaste for Ben and Rey made sufficiently known, the leader inquired what made Ben and his partner think themselves capable of helping them. Ben moved his left arm up, prepared to answer the leader when he paused and reconsidered. Sighing, Ben closed his eyes, and while his initial instinct, the same instinct he carried with him since childhood, was to hold his breath while allowing the Force to pour into him, he let go of that will and instead breathed as if that very connection depended on it. At first, the slightest of air wafted over the men, then a high up rumble followed by the groans of a storm, and then rain.

Water depressing the sand it fell on became a breed of serenade the men would starve themselves from family if only to dream of, and this steadfast call was one Ben heard through the leader. Spreading demand as a single drop of water on fabric changed the men’s clothing from something that matched the sand to something that defied the world they lived in. Opening his eyes, Ben watched as the rain poured over the village and sent the swallowing flames into weakening gusts of smoke. The leader lowered his weapon, looked to his men who did the same, and then together, they walked back to their village with Ben and Rey in tow. Entering the village was like bathing in exhaustion. The homes were falling apart, the mothers were doubled over in deepest concerns for their homeless children, and for many others, it seemed the task of rebuilding was one far too beyond even to consider.

“This wasn’t a rancor,” Rey muttered to herself. A crevice in the sand revealed the end of cannon fire.

“I…it wasn’t a rancor that did this,” Rey said again, and the desert heard her with thunder of its own as an affirmation.

“They’re saying a ship did this.” Ben watched those around him, signaling to him all at once.

“Not a First Order ship. A Hutt ship.” At the mention of the Hutts the surrounding Tusken Raiders hollered in anguish.

“They killed the bull rancor. It’s the Hutts that are giving them problems.” Ben signaled with his hands slowly once and then a second time with some help from Rey.

“They’re saying the Hutts are North of here. They have an entire compound to themselves. If we can just take out the cannons they have, it would be helpful.” Glancing toward the darkened North, Ben reached into the Force. There was a compound out there, and it reeked of ill intention.

A serious sense crossed over Rey when the Tusken Raiders gestured to two Banthas. Far taller than her with a coat that dragged through the sand and horns twirled inward, the Banthas held a steady place within the Force. A stream of invisible light appeared to attach the beasts to the villagers around them and, more specifically, to the leader and one of his men. These animals weren’t just reliable mounts to the people; they were family. Hand on one Bantha, Rey felt the animal coursing with hidden knowledge of the desert, not only where to find water but where to pray and build a home. Any excitement Rey had over the idea of riding the Bantha soon distilled into knowing gravity; the Tusken Raiders were allowing her and Ben to borrow their most sacred connection.

Pulling herself to the top of one of the Banthas, the leader signaled the Banthas would find their way back to them as it was in the Tusken Raider’s best interest to move their village as soon as possible. With the fire out and the darkness claiming every part of the desert once more, the village disappeared behind Ben and Rey as they went deeper into the desert, but still, the rain persisted long enough for the villagers to collect what they often spent months praying for. Hand buried in the Bantha’s coat, Rey enjoyed the warmth even if it came with the price of Bantha musk. Faster than they appear, the beasts walked slowly, but due to their size covered ground more swiftly than expected.

“I wonder if they knew who I was?” Ben questioned.

“I believe my grandfather did something awful to them. They have long memories, and I can’t begin to think that they would forget enough not to sense who I am.”

“They’re occlusivists, I think,” Rey remembered the word from some notes in one of the books Luke left behind.

“While they believe all life is connected, they also understand the individuality of it as well.” Rey eyed the horizon or rather imagined it as she tried to tell apart the sky and land.

“Meaning?” Ben asked.

“My heart is a part of my body, but my heart is not my mind. Anakin Skywalker is a part of your family, but he isn’t you.” Giving up on the horizon, Rey turned on the Bantha’s back to find lighting, gently dotting where they’d come from. 

“Also, I’m sure dumping a year’s worth of water on them helped.” 

At the edge of a crevice in the desert, Ben and Rey slipped off their Banthas, and like moving mountains, the two beasts strolled back for their home wherever it might be. Shades of darkest night filled the crevice, but if Ben looked long enough, he saw shape to what lie below. Sleeping guards, a couple of vessels, a speeder, and a cannon. On their bellies, Ben and Rey planned from the cliff overhanging the compound.

“I don’t think anyone is awake, but I can see a sensor from here and where there’s one, there’s more.” Ben grazed over the compound, as much as he could see, before leaving the rest to the Force.

“Why have this place anyway?” Rey questioned the plain set up with minimal weapons and few guards.

“It’s just the halfway point for trafficked goods; spice, weapons, things like that,” Ben remembered all too well Hux’s persistent complaints about the Hutt cartel and their ability to make money off of anything.

“That’s a First Order grade cannon…”Rey commented, imagining the multiple layers of protection the artillery housed. A blaster wouldn’t be good enough to break it beyond repair. Running her eyes over the sleeping guards, a Rodian and a human, Rey’s attention was caught on the leather bag slung over the chair the Rodian rested in. Focusing her attention on the bag, Rey listed her thoughts into hidden items within the leather. 

“I’m not even sure a lightsaber could dismantle the cannon before they wake up.” Ben started, but Rey’s full attention was else where as he continued to point out the few ways a First Order cannon could be destroyed.

“There’s always a bomb-” Realizing Rey wasn’t listening, Ben stopped speaking and forgot about the compound, the guards, and the possibility the sensors would go off even before they had the chance to pull to pieces the cannon. Finding Rey’s arm outstretched and fingers splayed in preparation for whatever it was she called to her, Ben looked from Rey to the sleeping guards and slowly followed the trek of two, dark orbs. Just small enough for both to fit in the woman’s hand, Rey pulled her arm back and opened her hand to reveal two adhesive bombs. 

“Will these do?” The question came as if Rey hadn’t just seemingly pulled exactly what they needed from thin air. A bit flabbergasted or perhaps locked in awe, Ben responded with wide eyes and a single nod.

The plan was simple, Rey thought to herself. There was no use sneaking around the guards as the sensors were going to go off no matter what, so Ben was going to create a diversion while Rey snuck down into the crevice, adhered the bombs to the cannon, and got out. Tossing a rock down into the compound, Ben sufficiently set the security lights off and, as a result, rudely awoke the guards from their sleep. Perhaps used to being suddenly awakened, the guards jolted to attention with their weapons out and ready before aiming at Ben.

“Hello, there.” Ben waved a hand and mustered up the best look of unknowing he could. He’d fail, but the distance from the cliff to the guards was enough to allow it.

“I’m looking for Jabba the Hutt…” Ben’s voice continued, less authoritative than Kylo Ren, but just as deep and very much hinting at a desire not to speak at all. From the base of the compound, Rey hid behind a storage container just as the light turned on. Peaking around the corner, she watched Ben struggle to distract the guards. Smiling to herself, Rey used the line of containers to find her way to the cannon and then pulling the bombs from her pocket she attached one and then a second at the opposite end all to the tune of Ben rambling on about needing to find Jabba the Hutt. Prepared to climb the area she’d just come from, Rey got a second thought when she passed the unused speeder bike.

 _Wrap it up_ , _Ben_ , even the voice Rey used held hints of laughter and something else Ben wasn’t expecting. 

“Would you look at that…I think someone is trying to blow up your cannon.” Ben’s final words to the duo of guards came as Rey raged the speeder bike from the still shadows of the compound over the guards and towards the man waiting to jump on the back. In the time it took for the guards to choose disarming the cannon over shooting at Rey, the woman had successfully picked up Ben and sped off with only moments to spare. Arms wrapped around Rey’s waist, Ben looked over his shoulder to see her handy work. The first explosion surely damaged the cannon, but the second managed to do what Rey intended and activate its volatile inner core. Fire erupted several meters into the air, making a show of consuming the compound and all its spice and illegal weapons. A small grin on his face, Ben pulled Rey closer so that her back molded to his chest.

 _Impressive_ , Ben thought.


	38. chapter 38

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey, Ben, and the others journey to Naboo where the identity of the old woman helping Ben is revealed.

Under a quickly rising pair of suns, Ben and Rey found their way back to the homestead. Without note to the many eyes watching them from the kitchen as they passed through the courtyard, the two found their room and poured themselves back into bed. Itch of sand on their skin with flecks of Bantha fur adhered to their clothing, Ben and Rey cared little of the small irritants as they fell asleep almost as soon as their heads found the give of their bed. It would be another day and a half before the rouse of unclaimed journeys tapped at Ben’s mind. First to wake, but last to give in to the persistent ruckus of another coming sunset, Ben licked the dry grit from his lips. Taste of sand in his mouth, a reminder of the desert outside, Ben hastened to thoughts of loam and growth while unbidding inclinations rushed through the man’s mind. Yolk light caressing freckled skin, fresh reprieve under the shade and deep water, air made clear and new by tall trees and grass rivaling the same splendor, and deep within Ben Solo a flutter unlike what he’d known before. 

A waking dream, a place the mind went when caught between sleep and a new day, Ben wasn’t sure of any of this. Lacking the sting of a vision, what Ben saw was more a path, not forced or proven, but present and offered. The sand of yesterday seemed to fall from his skin in recognition of what it was Ben saw. _It’s possible_ , Ben thought, _that I may never return to this place_. 

Just as evening met the homestead, Ben and Rey emerged from their room, bathed, changed, and rested enough to take on the next part of their journey. Prepared for their sudden reappearance, Chewie saved the meal he and Lando prepared for lunch, and while Ben and Rey ate, Threepio reminded the two of the next trial. “The nerf herding takes place on Naboo at a royal villa.” The droid’s attention bounced from Ben to Rey to the others until he went silent.

“What is it, Threepio?” Poe asked caf at his lips. Despite the rest, Poe’s muscles ached, albeit not as much as two days ago, and the tightness in his temples told Poe he needed more rest. 

“Well, it’s…” The droid stammered at the final task, the one that would end Ben’s trials and bring about a pardon from the planet of Birren. 

“There’s The Boar that still needs to be captured- ” Threepio began and then was interrupted by Poe.

“Yeah, we know that, but what’s the final task,” Poe asked. One by one, all sitting around the table looked up. Finn thought the request might be for Ben to take the treasure of some unsuspecting Queen that had wronged Queen Carise, Rose hoped for another task similar to the nerfs, Poe prayed for anything that involved some speed and maybe something that would bring him back to the Resistance quickly, Lando suspected the darkness Threepio had a hard time speaking of, Maz had no suspicion over the reason Queen Carise would bring Ben to Naboo in the first place, and Chewie had his attention on the last bit of meat Ben offered from his serving.

“The mantel of Palpatine’s throne.” Even the ringing words spoken by the droid came as laced obsidian rows of death. Maz sighed and allowed herself to lean back until her back met Chewie’s side.

“So it is,” Maz spoke mostly to herself. 

“You must be very careful.” Maz eyed Ben, her eyes noting an ancient recognition of something evil.

“What’s it matter? Palpatine is dead and gone…” Even as Poe said the words, he felt the hollowness of them.

“Yes, he is gone, but what the man touches so becomes him.” Shaking her head, Maz came to her feet, left the kitchen, and, as the other’s assumed, left the homestead for the Falcon.

“What does that mean?” Rose asked.

“Darkness has a way of seeping into objects. The dagger, the one used on my parents, used for something as awful as murder. I could feel that every time I touched it.” Rey didn’t want to know what lived in the mantle of Palpatine’s throne.

“Just another sign of her power?” Rose snorted at the idea of such a rotten person in possession of possibly the only thing in the galaxy more rotten than her.

“The Queen wants something she knows nothing about,” Rey added. 

“Where is this mantle?” While traveling with Luke, Lando had seen a list of objects sought after by the Jedi, and several of those artifacts were, at one point, in Palpatine’s possession.

“Do we think Luke found it and stashed it somewhere?” Lando asked.

“Not likely. I’ve maintained most of Master Luke’s records, and no entry lists such an artifact.” Threepio answered.

“Maybe it’s back on Exegol.” Rey voiced.

“It’s on Naboo.” Ben’s answer broke the air, and so by the admission, a chill ran through the group. Not looking from the empty bowl in front of him, Ben felt the ice of a memory touch his feet and dig up his body till it reached his fingertips.

“Beneath Theed City. There’s an underground network of secret tunnels used by Palpatine’s loyals when he was just beginning to rise to power. His original throne is still down there.”

Waiting for more information, the rest of the room, except Rey, dotted Ben with their silent attention until the weight brought Ben back form his thoughts. “Snoke had pieces of the throne in his treasury. I knew his thoughts well enough to figure where some of his possessions came from. My old master did well to keep in my presence the most sinister relics. Then again, I welcomed it. Palpatine’s throne, I know where it is.”

“And can you collect the mantle with no harm to yourself?” The question burned Lando’s throat. He knew the answer long before asking it. The uncle and his nephew met eyes, and suddenly Ben was a child again. Young with tears always a word away, and terrified of the dark corners in his room. Lando wanted nothing more at that moment than to bring Palpatine back to life only to subdue him in the harshest way possible, in a manner that would reverse time and correct what the galaxy had allowed to pass. 

A near gloaming Naboo brimmed with sterling golden light and immaculate lakes as a reflection. The closer the Falcon got to Lake Country, the more crew gathered in the cockpit, leaving those who’d seen this scene many times to vacate the small area and allow the greenest of the crew to gaze at a place most thought only existed in their dreams. A rumble in the Force captured Rey’s attention long before the Falcon landed, and while troubled by the constant babble in her chest, she soon realized it was the many waterfalls. Truly, in this place, water was present in the Force as a living being constantly thrumming a call anyone could hear if they just listened. Her previous thought subsiding, Rey’s inquiry turned to Ben, who’d been imaging his grandfather since they’d entered Naboo’s atmosphere. Like walking a path fostered and created by another, Ben felt his maternal grandfather in every breath of Naboo. Not Darth Vader, not the man-machine responsible for causing so much pain, but Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi hero who’d saved, held compassion, and fallen in love with Padme Amidala. Ben’s grandmother, as well, felt ensconced in Naboo, and that feeling grew as Ben exited the Falcon. Padme, Ben came to realize, was in every breeze, every soft call of the planet’s birds, every sunset, every rising moon, in everything. While it was inevitable for the rest of the galaxy to forget Padme one day, it was impossible for Naboo to cease in recalling her very spirit.

Recognition flashed in Naboo’s sky as clouds gathered to watch the sunset. Gasping purples, met pink rose sunshine with orange, and deep yellow speaking volumes of Ben’s place within Naboo. There was a reason, after all, that Snoke kept this planet from Ben. While Ben and Rey walked with the others to the entrance of Varykino, not one of their friends noticed the second life the two were currently living. Transformation in the form of long lost words and memories shared through time and space corralled within Ben and were shared with Rey until one such calling aimed itself directly at the woman. Feeling a leaf’s touch on her heart, Rey drew her attention further into the Force, so much so she closed her eyes and allowed Ben to guide her while they walked. Gentle in ways that left the imprint of everlasting warmth, Rey became a part of a conversation without words. She was welcomed here on Naboo, made to feel as much a part of this place as Ben was. Rey belonged here on Naboo. This wasn’t just about being a dyad, Rey found, it was about choice and love. By loving Ben and choosing to be with him, she’d gained a family, and that family welcomed her with every breeze and soft shuffle of lake current on shore. Taken aback by the constant reminder of who she was in the eyes of this planet, Rey gripped Ben’s hand tighter. Head on his shoulder, Rey wished for the welcome never to end, but by the time they reached the steps of Varykino’s villa, it was time to open her eyes to another splendor. 

Varykino was not set against the lakes and forest but as a part of them both a monument to who had lived there and a place of promise for those who came later. With the slow set of the sun, Varykino turned to a place among the lake’s vapor, an area captured in clouds and heavenly light. Open and welcoming, the round villa of Varykino swore serenity, but deep within the Force, there was also pain. The villa’s guards, all born and raised on Naboo, expected the arrival of the Falcon and The Hind and did as instructed. Asking that Ben and Rey follow the head guard, the others were asked to stay behind in the foyer. A bit off-put by the idea, Finn kept his eyes on Rey while she and Ben faded deeper into the villa.

“Don’t worry, kid. This isn’t the place for backstabbing kinds of deals.” Lando’s words at first were met with Finn’s disbelief, but looking out to the grand lake circling the villa, it was easier to understand why such a thing as treachery was unspeakable in a place like this. 

“You have a feeling,” Rey commented on the fleeting belief Ben had earlier when he’d awoken on Tatooine.

“I do,” Ben answered, still unsure of what it meant.

“I don’t believe we’ll be returning to Tatooine.” As Ben answered, two more guards opened the doors to the villa’s central parlor, what used to be a massive throne room turned place of celebration with high ceilings and stained-glass windows. Beneath a waterfall of light, Ben and Rey allowed their eyes to adjust. Before them, dressed in the long garments of a once Queen’s handmaiden, was the old woman who approached Ben and Rey on Birren.

“I’ve surprised you.” The old woman spoke first and moved first. With every step, her glittering dress showed emerald and gold under the sun’s dwindling light. The old woman smiled deeply, happy at the very least that she could look upon Ben in a place that was safe for her to be true to her feelings.

“You have your grandmother’s eyes,” The old woman, now close to tears, kept her unblinking gaze on Ben before turning it to Rey.

“Who are you?” Ben asked. There was never a threat to the woman, but still, Ben was deeply confused over the true identity of the old woman.

“My name is Sabé. I was a handmaiden in the Royal House of Naboo. I served your grandmother, Padme Amidala.” There was, at one point, a grit to every word the woman spoke, but now it was different. Now, Sabé, was looking at the grandson of her dearest friend. In a moment, it was as if all the blood spill and death came to this point, that she should be standing before this man whose mere presence sent the villa thrumming as if Padme herself had returned.

“You knew my grandmother.” Understanding clicked in Ben’s mind as he reconciled the pain in Sabé’s heart with the knowledge of who unknowingly pressed such a hardship onto the woman’s life.

“Is this why you’re helping me?” Ben asked. The old woman offered Ben no answer as the tearful look in her eyes gave way to endearing pledge. Waving off her guards, the old woman gestured for Ben and Rey to sit down on the lounge across from her.

“It is right that you both are here, and that’s why I contacted Queen Carise as a Naboo royal and asked that Ben Solo be sent here. Before the sun sets, I’d ask that you heard the nerfs from the villa stable to the adjoining property nearby. I believe this action will reveal to you in good time, and without suspicion of Birren’s court, why I wanted you both to come here.”

At the villa’s stable, Ben accepted the staff handed to him by the nerf’s usual keeper. From inside the collected stable about a dozen or so nerfs looked on to the unknown man and woman with curiosity. Curled taupe horns gave way to dark eyes surrounded by bronze fur that glittered under the light. While the nerfs did carry a distinct smell, it did nothing to dissuade the task at hand as the scent was one Ben recalled with quiet joy. Hay still sticking the dreadlocks of wool hanging from beneath them, the nerfs followed Ben from the stable with ease. While Ben suffused the Force with a connection to the nerfs, something to encourage them to follow him, he found the gesture to be one unwarranted as the nerfs followed readily. Bringing up the rear, Rey followed with her staff in hand as the waist-high nerfs looked back to her from time to time until they reached the first hill. From the villa, Finn, Rose, and Poe looked on in amusement as a few friendly jeering calls were sounded out until the duo were over the hill and on their way to the adjacent stable.

The nerfs knew where to go as they’d taken this path many times over their life, and so when they reached a fork in the road with rocky pasture on one side and a path through a forest on the other, the nerfs guided themselves down the forest path. Ben shrugged off the change in plan and allowed the nerfs to take the wide path. Through the forest, the trees grew taller, the grass a deeper green, and all around wild birds called endlessly despite the approaching evening hour.

“Ben, what is that?” Rey asked from behind. Ben didn’t need to look back at Rey; he knew where her mind was. A bisection in the path allowed the passerby to take a dirt road towards a collection of stone buildings. Vacant, by the looks of them, the small villas were lined together, leaving plenty of room for more to be built as well as areas for farming. At the first home, a place engraved with moss and vines, Ben rested his hand on the stone and allowed the site to tell its story.

“It belonged to a clergywoman and her family. They’re long gone.” Ben glanced around at the empty homes picturing the people who lived there.

“Such a shame. They seem to be in good condition.” Rey spoke almost absentmindedly before Ben turned to find the woman with her hands on her hips and gentle eyes scoping the neighborhood out. Catching the flash of inspiration in Ben’s eyes, Rey smiled.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Rey asked.

“I think I am.” Ben’s answer was followed with a whistle to the flock to follow him as he led them out of the neighborhood and towards their next destination.

“We’d have to get Poe and Finn’s help,” Rey added the final detail.

“They’d definitely be willing,” Rey promised. However, it was becoming harder and harder to speak as the path took Ben and Rey against the lakeside where the water turned into jewels of orange and violet under the sun’s departure. Close to their destination, Ben went over the idea a second time from beginning to end.

“So, I’ll ask Sabé if the Twi’leks on Birren can come to live here. There’s plenty of room, and it doesn’t look like she’s using it for anything. You’ll ask Poe and Finn if they’d be willing to include the Resistance and help transport the Twi’leks if they indeed want to leave Birren. All that leaves is keeping this away from Queen Carise’s attention.”

“You think she’ll mind?” Rey asked.

“The idea isn’t hers, so yes, she’ll mind.”

“We could send Rose to talk to the Twi’leks, and once everything is settled and the trials are completed, the Twi’leks can be moved out here if they choose it.” Rey’s smile caught in the sun made Naboo all the more heavenly. At the destination, Ben let the nerfs into their hold for the night, a lakeside stable. Before leaving, the two ascended a nearby hill that looked over parts of the forest, lake, and another island but a few kilometers from where Rey and Ben were. 

“Ben look,” Leaning against a short wall made of pebbles, Rey pointed to the neighboring island. Following the woman’s attention, Ben saw the outline of a small home smoothed over with decades of existence.

“I wonder who lives there?” Rey asked herself and followed it up with the secret she’d used to dream of such a place when she was younger. Ben left the question unanswered, too caught up with the touching sheen of joy on Rey’s face, but then there was an answer deep within himself, and it made Ben all the more interested in getting back to the villa before nightfall. 


	39. Chapter 39

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben learns that there is more to Varykino and it involves him and his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters don't belong to me, they belong to the mouse.

Twilight in Lake Country shifted the waters and tilted the islands into a soft, plume paradise, one with birds calling and firelight burning like stars. Within the villa once more, Ben and Rey waited for Sabé in the main chamber. At rest on the lavished lounge Sabé kept for the few guests who visited, Rey spent the minutes before the woman appeared swallowing the room whole. A ceiling so high and designed to capture its own perpetual sun in the middle of the evening boomed with golden light. While the Naboo outside prepared for night, the inside of the villa held a beating light, incapable of being deafened. It was easy for the newcomer of this villa to believe the villa’s soul to be untouchable, but Rey knew better. Just as she felt the many laughing cries of young girls as they tossed themselves into the water outside, she felt the crushing tears of those who’d lost everything. Rey experienced the darkness of the villa all while sitting next to Ben. 

Removing her attention from the ceiling above, Rey glanced to the immense darkness of the lake and sky outside. While deep within the villa the structure of the main chamber was open enough to allow one to gaze at the outside world and what Rey found there felt of stinging rain and bereft damns leaving a crushed soul. It was Sabé the moment she learned of Padme’s death. Stoic in spirit and physicality, Sabé was not one to fall to her knees, but on the night she learned of the darkest deed and the gapping pit bent on consuming the galaxy whole because of Anakin’s turn to the dark side, the woman collapsed. From the floor of the villa the woman held the place where her heart beat, and from the growing crevice within it willed a new life. It was darkness, thick as water and binding as blood, that tore Sabé into the next part of her life, one without Padme. Rey stayed with the memory a moment longer before seeing through Sabé’s eyes the image of Palpatine as Emperor. 

Snapping away from the memory, Rey gasped and let her head fall into her hands. Shaken by Palpatine’s sudden rearing from the shadows, Rey realized she could never fully keep the man’s image from her mind. Disgusted with Palpatine and sickened with who she was to that man, Rey came to her feet. Hands on her hips and feeling she may never replenish her empty lungs fast enough; Rey paced the room. Watching her, consoling her without words, but with soft memories of her life, Ben waited patiently from the lounge. 

“You’re not him, Rey.” Ben’s words filled the room, mixed with the light of the villa, and drenched the darkness outside with reason to believe there was nothing he and Rey couldn’t handle together. At ease, Rey paused with her back to Ben and allowed her hands to fall from her hips to her side. 

“What he did…” Rey couldn’t get the words out. It was one thing to be familiar with the Palpatine’s history, but something else to feel it breathing in a place like Varykino. Facing Ben, Rey ignored the stinging in her eyes and the tears that fell soon after. 

“We’re the same.” Rey admitted to herself and Ben quickly realized she wasn’t talking about him. 

“You’re not.” Ben’s affirmation would have been enough to shake Naboo from its rotation. 

“How much tragedy do you think it would take for me to turn out just like him?” The woman’s words flowed as she spoke faster and with spitting anger. 

“He manipulated everything and everyone around him. I could do the same and with power like what we have it would be easy.” The self-accusation tasted horrid, but Rey didn’t stop there. “What if one day I wake up and shake the light from myself? What if I dive into the darkness and never resurface? What would it take for something like that to happen? How many of my loved ones would have to die for me to crash headfirst into some sick destiny I have no say in?” Shuddering, Rey allowed an ultimate question. 

“Do I even have a choice?”

Ben never released his eyes from Rey, knowing that if he looked away, he’d see Snoke or Vader or Palpatine waiting in the darkest corners of his mind. Rey is a light, Ben knew this. She was vibrant, more alive than any planet with a booming population, fierce in a way that leveled enemies long before she ever raised a weapon to them, and by everything Ben had in him, Rey carried a pull with her that had there been a sith in her presence they would find the light by simply sharing proximity with her. For Rey to say she was anything like Palpatine was preposterous. She was the living, brimming opposite. 

“Beyond Palpatine, beyond me, beyond even your own life, there is the Force and within it you always have free will. The Force doesn’t stop its flow of power because you’re using it for your own gain. You always have a choice and no one, not me or your blood line, can take it away from you.” Ben followed the trace of Rey’s tears, watched as they gathered all the light from the ceiling and crawled along her skin like shooting stars. Reaching his feet, Ben walked towards Rey, took her face in his hands and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Searching Rey’s eyes, Ben strung together the many ways she was nothing like Palpatine and finding it as a ring of unbreakable, light, he passed his findings within Rey’s mind. Closing her eyes, Rey felt the light, its constant reach and never-ending pull, its warmth and regard for life, its hum and sworn hold that to attach oneself to it was to never be alone. 

“Should I come back?” Sabé’s gentle question was one of sincerity. Looking over Ben’s shoulder, Rey found the woman dressed in evening attire. A dress softer than even a cloud might be. Brilliant specs of pearl and diamond lace glistened from the midnight blue clothing, leaving questions in Rey’s mind of how long it took for Sabé to change into something so ornate. 

“We had a question for you.” Ben began, and as he faced the woman, thoughts of his mother flooded and clashed with genuine memories. Leia had dressed many times in such beautiful attire as the dress Sabé wore. Sabé smiled as if she were expecting this meeting long before Ben and Rey ever came to Naboo. 

“The land out beyond the villa, the little village that appears to have no one living there…would it be possible to allow the Twi’leks from Birren to live there?” Ben’s question left a stunning dance of near crying eyes and a heartfelt smile on Sabé’s face. It was true all along. While Ben Solo may look like his father, there was so much of his mother and grandmother present within him. 

“That land is vacant, you’re correct on that account. However, the land doesn’t belong to me.” 

“Who does it belong to?” Rey asked. 

“Him.” Sabé gestured to a surprised Ben. For a moment Sabé took in the air around the villa, the same air that announced to Naboo that Padme, while gone into the next life, was just as alive as ever through her grandson.

“The land you took the nerfs through today once belonged to Padme Amidala, was passed to her daughter, and is now handed over to you. It includes the village you passed by, the surrounding land, and the island next to it.” Sabé lost count of the days she’d waited to entrust the property over to its rightful heir. _Too long_ , Sabé thought. She’d watched the rise and fall of the emperor and listened eagerly as news of a single Jedi came forward from Tatooine and helped bring down the whole of Emperor Palpatine’s rule. While not privy to her presence, Leia’s wedding day brought Sabé from the darkest reaches of the galaxy to witness the event in place of Leia’s biological mother. The woman, now older, followed the family’s development from a distance she found suitable and in keeping with protecting Leia’s true identity. While Leia knew Anakin was her biological father, the rest of the galaxy didn’t, and Sabé refused to be the one who accidentally gave more weight to the many rumors flying around the galaxy. Still, there was a final chance Sabé took, and that was a few years after Ben Solo’s birth. Sabé ventured to Chandrila on some partially made up mission and while in Hanna City made certain to cross paths with the Solo family. They spoke no words, but Sabé got what she came for. 

“I look at you and I see so much of Padme.” Chasing her tears away, Sabé reminded herself of the task at hand. 

“These trials are important. You’re passing of them and what happens after are important and I’m here to help in whatever way I can. If you wish to offer the village next to the lake as a home to the Twi’leks then I’m here to help make that happen.” Sabé took her seat on the lounge. Back straight with an air of business, she waited for Ben and Rey to do the same. Ben’s face had yet to pass into understanding. He didn’t believe, and because he didn’t believe, he would never hope. 

“Despite what you’ve done as Kylo Ren, those ways are in the past. If you heard me correctly, I said this land is entrusted to you. I never mentioned Kylo Ren. You would do well to accept what you grandmother fought and died for. You’ll take this land and the pledge that comes with it. To lend your strength to Naboo in the time that they require it, that’s the promise that comes with this place.” Considering her words, Ben halved his mind with Rey, and in some silent negotiation the two took the seat across from Sabé at the same time. 

Not to Ben’s surprise, Lando refused to leave with the others when Rey successfully recruited them to help move the Twi’leks to their new home. The old man, stubborn as ever, told Ben he’d remain on Naboo until the mantel of Palpatine’s throne was collected. Eager to help, Rose and Finn volunteered to head back to Birren in a freighter Sabé used for more extended travel. The generals, both Poe and Finn, contacted the base on Birren and informed those left in charge to contact the Twi’leks immediately.

“I don’t want Birren knowing about this. Keep a low profile.” Poe’s command was quick and came with the steady pull to return to Naboo as soon as possible. While not entirely worried about the next trial, Poe was concerned enough to be on standby should Ben and Rey need him. 

Not yet morning on Naboo, the group including Maz, Poe, Finn, C-3PO, R2-D2, BB-8, and Rose stood outside the massive villa with the freighter’s engines warmed and ready for departure. Rey thanked those who’d be leaving while Ben stood some meters away with Lando by his side and Chewie, who also demanded to remain on Naboo, sitting on the marble steps of the villa eating a very early breakfast. 

“We’ll be back before you know it.” Rose embraced Rey and while she did, she waved at Ben who waved back once with the unassuredness of a man who hadn’t done such a gesture in a long time. 

“I’ll see you soon?” Finn didn’t mean for it to sound like a question, but in that moment all he wanted was a guarantee he’d see Rey again. Rey’s answer came as two warm arms wrapped around his neck and head leaning on his. 

“You’ll see me before you know it.” Rey promised, and she threw everything she had into it, wanting Finn to believe her. 

Watching the freighter disappear into the sky, Rey kept her eyes on the stars long after the vessel was out of the atmosphere. Feeling Ben take her hand, Rey squeezed and Ben squeezed back. Whatever it meant to enter the underbelly of Theed City Rey was soon to find out and so was Ben, but they’d be together and that would be enough. 


	40. Chapter 40

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben find Palpatine's throne.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters don't belong to me, they belong to the mouse.   
> It's been a busy couple of weeks. Thank you so much for your patience!

There seemed not to be a single square patch of unused land in Theed. In place of trees and billowing grass Rey associated with Varykino, there was striated, milky stone unmovable by the wind and shaped in such a way as to create countless doorways and paths. On the back of the speeder Sabé allowed Ben and Rey to use, the young woman was tempted to ease up on the accelerator. Sunrise over Theed involved a puncture of sorts to the sun and then a slow drain of pure sunlight over a city whose architecture soaked it up as water. The buildings, monuments, brick streets, tiered water fountains, and more consumed the light and appeared to stir with life. Wind in their ears, communication between Ben and Rey took place mostly in their heads, but as of entering Theed, Ben’s boundless tone in Rey’s head went silent. Arms around Rey’s waist, Ben’s focus leaned on Rey and less on the place he’d visited more times than he could count.

A firework of emotion rung through the woman, first over the enormity of it all and second over the detail, both ancient and modern. It was possible to see a statue of one of Naboo’s more recent queens steadied close to one from generations ago. People of Theed dressed in attire that suited the constant breeze making the very air of the city a part of every walking being as it rippled through their clothing. Serious, but in the way that showed where’d they been and where they were going, the city people spoke with passionate gestures that left little room for Rey to guess over what they were discussing. It was no wonder the light of the sun mused over this place as the people here seem to always be thinking of others.

The smallest inclination to take the next pathway hinted in Rey’s mind, and following the direction she turned the speeder down a narrow path between and below homes. When the pathway gave it was to a massive courtyard with a ten-tiered fountain at the center that spouted dancing water turned silver under the sunlight. While crowds gathered around the fountain to speak and eat, Rey saw past them and to the figures carved in the stone. All of them were women with flowing locks and dresses made of water. A sting to Rey’s eyes caused the woman to recall Leia on the very rare occasions when her hair was down. When the sting sank to Rey’s heart, she brought her eyes to the single building that surrounded the water fountain. Eyeing each window, some open with curtains flowing and others closed with fire light behind them, she thought for a moment Leia or Han might stick their head out and call to her and Ben. Stopping the speeder, Rey looked to Ben only to find the man’s gaze on a window three-quarters from the top. Closed, with a black curtain blocking what was inside, Ben refused to part his attention from the home.

“My mother and father visited Naboo often. That was their apartment. They used to bring me here all the time when I was kid and then later Luke and I would use the place when we were scouting the library for information.” Glancing back to the fountain at the center of the courtyard, Ben remarked they were in a part of the city known as the Handmaid’s Square.

“On the other side of this wall is a museum. There we’ll find an entrance to the ossuary.”

The museum Ben spoke of took up a significant portion of the city leaving Rey to wonder how it was possible to navigate the countless levels, most of which went far below ground. Open as the rest of the buildings in Theed, the museum didn’t appear to have doors only places for more and more people to enter. Through the archway entrance fit enough to encapsulate an entire freighter, Rey followed Ben. Clasping each other’s hands, the two passed through the building crowd. The chatter of droids sounding just like C-3PO spoke to schoolchildren about the various paintings and statues, pointing out the myriad of stories each item carried with it from places far beyond Naboo. Deeper into the museum the crowds thinned, revealing portions of the buildings most of the patrons had yet to reach. The taxidermy hall provided Rey with a landscape of animals she’d never imagined, some even larger than the Falcon with eyes more plentiful than stars. Catching her breath, Rey paused before a four-legged, hooved animal. The forward-facing eyes confirmed the animal was a predator, but the slender legs and single obsidian horn blooming from the animal’s forehead said something else. Stepping closer, Rey didn’t allow her eyes from the animal’s form. A fawn coat giving way to red and black speckles at the back, Rey knew she’d seen this animal before but couldn't place where.

“You stop at this animal over all the others.” Ben’s voice mused more to himself. Unable to answer at first, Rey began to hear a song in her head, something soft and forgiving.

“What is this animal?” Rey searched for a droid to tell her, but there was nothing about the animal or its natural history readily available.

“It has no name.”

“Why not?” Rey asked and felt Ben’s hand in hers shudder just the slightest.

“It only exists in dreams.” There was so much more to that statement, Rey knew it.

“I’ve dreamed of this animal.” Rey admitted, despite not knowing when or how the dream went.

“I have to. It’s rare to dream of it, but when one does, it’s said to hold significance.”

“What kind of significance?” Rey unglued her gaze and turned back to Ben, who nearly refused to look at the animal.

“Only those closest to the Force dream of it. It’s a kind of omen, something that Jedi scholars once described as having either light or dark premonition.”

“I don’t feel darkness when I look at it. I feel…calm. Almost joyful.” Rey’s words echoed in Ben’s mind, leaving Rey to fold herself into the man’s open memory to see what he saw. The creature, covered in soot from head to tail, its horn carrying a hot star at the end, and its hooves covered in blood. There was screaming and then a young Ben Solo barley able to talk shook himself awake. The memory ended with Ben’s signing as if he’d just waged an entire battle in his head. Raising a hand to his forehead, Rey brushed her thumb over Ben’s skin. Finding his flesh feverish, she flattened her palm over Ben’s forehead and like a pursuing breeze, Ben’s mind cooled.

“Come on, Ben.” Rey smiled in the way that convinced Ben he’d never have to the see the sun again as long as she was with him.

In an exhibition hall usually left unseen by most patrons because of its distance from the entrance, Ben and Rey found themselves before a shelf of ancient books reaching nearly to the ceiling several meters above. At either side of the shelf was an archway and beyond the threshold only darkness.

Nothing’s changed, Ben thought.

Ben entered one archway and once the darkness swallowed him and Rey whole did they see the long stretching hallway only dimly light by palm sized chandeliers. Walls made of stone that caught the underground cold wafted the coolness through the air, making Rey thankful Ben had mentioned bringing something heavier to wear. The sound of their boots on rock became the only noise as Ben and Rey passed by small openings in the rock where bodies, now bone, were housed. Rey felt little unease over this place or at seeing the bones of at rest persons who once changed the course of Naboo history. No, there was nothing wrong or frightening about this place, but someone was banking on other’s fear of death as a way to hide something.

“When Palpatine was first growing his power in Naboo he would carry out secret meetings across Theed. Once city officials became suspicious, Palpatine took the meetings below ground. In the ancient channels once used to give their people water.” Ben’s mind was constantly spinning since the moment he’d entered the museum and while Rey thought it had to with Palpatine’s throne, she found later it had more to do with the museum and his desire to experience something from his childhood that hadn’t been completely ruined. With a quiet smile, Rey realized Ben could probably out fact any droid in the museum. The smile was too soon marred by the vision of the four-legged animal in Ben’s nightmare. Too many painful questions encircled the idea of a Ben Solo who had never fallen to the dark side, a Ben Solo that should have been left to his museums and libraries instead of manipulated.

“You as well, should not have been left on Jakku.” While Rey’s thoughts were moored in empathy, Ben’s neared a constricting rage.

“What’s done is done.” Rey whispered. The hallway, Rey realized, didn’t ever stop. It just continued on and on until Ben paused and taking his hand from Rey he placed both palms on the stone.

“What are you doing?” Rey asked.

“Asking for directions.” Pulling away his hands, Ben continued into the darkness a bit more until arriving at a divot in the wall. Slowly, Ben put out his hand and Rey watched as it sunk into the wall. A hologram. An exact overlay of the wall.

“This is it.” Ben turned back to Rey. The two joined their gaze each mentally checking off that they had what they needed. A lightsaber for Rey, a blaster for Ben, and then most importantly each other.

Stepping through the wall first, Ben wasn’t surprised by the frigid air, the snapping howl lost to time, or the gnawing rage the walls carried. When Rey entered, she couldn’t help but think of Snoke, of the time when the Supreme Leader held her over the floor with her mind bleeding out. Pain was the way of this place, with hate and rage as loyal guards. Igniting her lightsaber, Rey caught sight of the square room, the open space and at the center a broken throne with someone sitting where Palpatine might. A strike to Rey’s heart willed the woman to push fast at the dark figure, but she refused the inclination and instead caught her breath. Ben, as well, wasn’t expecting what he saw. A shrouded figure sitting on the throne, its gnarled hands clasped over its lap, and head bowed as if in mediation. Oozing with blinding power, the figure didn’t breathe or move or speak.

“It’s just a statue.” Ben affirmed.

“Was it here the last time you were?” Rey asked.

“No.” Ben’s voice dropped to a place that dared the stature to move or do anything that would bring about it being pulverized.

“My guess is an acolyte probably put it here. A statue of Emperor Palpatine meant to scare curious artifact hunters away or even create rumors of his return.” Nearing the throne was like swimming deeper into water. The push back was unforgiving and rang in Ben and Rey’s ears. Holding her lightsaber so she could get a closer look at the throne, Rey couldn’t place the metal made throne as something beyond ordinary. At least not by shape alone, but the metal, Rey realized when her lightsaber caught the gleam of imbedded gems, was shaking with hostility.

“Those gems are from the unknown regions. They’re said to capture memories as energy and retain them.” Ben whispered, his hands shaking as he attempted to place a glove over each.

“The mantel,” Ben eyed the curved top of the throne that barely reached the nape of the figure. “is encrusted with dust from every planet Palpatine destroyed or conquered. The bones of the dead turned to silt and pressed on each other repeatedly. The acolytes referred to it as ‘the throne of the conquered’.” Ben reached out his gloved hands, prepared to remove the mantel from its place only for Rey’s words to pause him.

“Wait,” Rey looked over the room, trying hard to sense for anything amiss, something nearly impossible to do in a place that should have never existed to begin with. 

“Do you think there’s a trap?” Rey asked.

“There probably is.” The duo nodded to each other, each prepared to take on whatever happened next. Rey followed Ben’s hands as they formed around the mantel, no bigger than Maz. Pulling upward, the cry of the mantel being separated from the rest of the throne rang out in the room and made both Rey and Ben’s ears itch. A final tug of momentum and Ben fully separated the curved mantel from the throne. Holding it a mere meter above where it once rested, Ben held his breath and waited. Glancing around with her lightsaber ignited, Rey watched the darkest corners of the room, preparing for a beast to be released or a perhaps an army of some kind.

There was nothing.

“Maybe we got-” Rey began, but was interrupted by the slow, gurgle laughter of Palpatine. Shrill cold ran through Ben as he quickly wrapped the mantel in a sheet and hustled it into the pack on his back.

“Where did that come from?” Tight words left Rey’s mouth, but there was no answer. Again, a slow, steady laugh. Swiveling around, Rey held the lightsaber over the hooded statue and bringing it closer she saw beneath the rigid cloak detailed features of Palpatine. The screech of metal against metal rang out in the room, causing it to shake with a slight tremor as the figure rose from the throne. Leaping back to different sides of the room, Rey and Ben watched as the figure came to his feet and took a step from the throne. The moment the figure’s foot tapped against the ground, a loud gasp of air shot from the floor and a valley of pure darkness formed from the foot to the entrance. Rock shook from its place, fell from somewhere high above and blocked the entrance. When all went silent, the figure’s head turned to where Rey was and by the dim light of her weapon she saw the pale features of a most terrifying man. Gruesome and waxed over, the figure looked so much like Palpatine.

“You dare defy this inner sanctum.” The voice croaked and then threw his hand out just as Ben leapt from his corner. Ben went flying backwards, hitting a wall, and rolling to the ground. A growl already on her lips, Rey rushed the figure with lightsaber raised. The figure disarmed the woman while sending a wave of energy feeling too much like an unstoppable current. Rey fell to the ground and rolled to the feet of the figure. Looking down on her, Rey could just make out a sinister smile crossing over the figure’s pale features.

“What are you?” Rey barked, ready to pull away the thing’s hood. The figure’s smile deepened before he answered. “Death’s shadow.” A fraction of time too late, Rey couldn’t stop the out pour of lightning coming from the ceiling. For the briefest of seconds the entire room was made of pure light before being sunk back into darkness. Within the Force Rey felt Ben’s pain and likewise he felt hers as sizzling rivets of light rushed through them. Flipping back to her feet, Rey called her lightsaber, which found her hand effortlessly. The yellow blade made more daring with Rey as its operator became a flipping light as she jumped clear over the figure. Already Ben had been summoning the rocks from the collapse and as he began shooting boulders at the figure Rey became as a knife, cutting and pulling back from the figure with sharp speed. Managing a hit every other time, the duo was beginning to see it was useless against the figure, like hitting a mountain and expecting it to collapse.

“What is this thing?” Rey yelled.

“I have no idea, but feel it. It’s not organic. Its energy is draining fast.”

Just as Ben mentioned the only way of overpowering the stone figure, it lifted its arms and brought both Rey and Ben into the air. Not allowing this to happen again, Ben pushed off the wall behind him, breaking the figure’s grasp as he barreled into the figure. To his surprise, the figure fell to the ground with a loud crunch. Ben came to his feet faster than the figure and overpowering the figure’s will to clasp the Force, Ben rose his arms high in the air, pushing the figure so far up into the darkness it almost disappeared. Letting go, Ben allowed the figure to tumble to the ground. The sound of breaking rock and scattering stone filled the room along with flashes of light and a thundering laugh. Broken into pieces, the figure’s face was the sole thing left behind and as Rey looked down at it another gurgled laugh shook the room. Rey didn’t hesitate, she pulled her lightsaber high into the air and allowed it to turn the head into dust. Both panting and bruised, Ben and Rey found their breath before beginning the task of moving the rocks from the entrance.

“How?” Rey managed.

“I’ve only ever heard of something like this. Those gems from the unknown regions, Snoke believed it was possible to imbue one’s power on them. Almost like creating a droid to fight for you. The power isn’t everlasting. It fades with use.” Ben hurried to remove the last boulder from the entrance and as he and Rey stepped out of the room, they were sure to block it back up. 


	41. Chapter 41

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben prepare to return to Birren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up the next few chapters will probably be more fast paced as the story draws to a close. I already have in mind what I want to work on next and can't wait to get it started as soon as Glory of Alderaan is good to go! I have a few comments to get to and I'll get to them as soon as I can. You all are wonderful! Thank you for the kudos, comments, hits, all of it! Thank you so much! 
> 
> These characters don't belong to me, they belong to the mouse.

A silence not even the bustle of Theed could break followed Ben and Rey back to Varykino. The feeling of a third pressed into the Force; acrid and insurmountable, whatever residue of the dark side drenched the mantel seeped into Ben and Rey’s minds. The beginning of a storm started with droplets of stinging jolts to Ben and Rey’s attention, almost as if someone whispered in their ear only for them to turn around and find not a single person there. Familiar with the sensation, Ben kept the artifact wrapped, shuffled away in his pack, and clung to his figure. However, it mattered not where Ben kept the mantel, its presence distended into the Force, lapping at the galaxy around it and what Ben and Rey did not know at the time was across the galaxy, on Birren, an unexpected darkness made its way into the Resistance. 

Arriving at the villa just before afternoon, the duo was sighted by Lando from one of the villa’s balconies. A quick holler to Chewbacca to get The Hind ready for departure followed, and before the Wookiee could answer, Lando had descended the stairs. Prepared to outline the happenings on Birren and their sudden need to vacate Naboo and return, Lando abandoned his initial task at the sight of Ben. There, on Ben’s face, was the gaunt fix of pure ghastly visage. Shaking Ben from the inside out, the mantel brought with it a sterile air, the kind that reminded Lando of the silence before battle. From Ben to Rey, Lando witnessed no difference. If it was in Ben to lessen the burden of the mantel on Rey, there was no way of confirming his success by look alone. Rey’s usual tan skin mixed with dancing freckles was now exchanged for a starved appearance that left the woman pale. 

“What could Queen Carise possibly want with that thing?” Lando murmured to himself, his stomach flipping in a way too reminiscent of flying with Han. 

As if sore, the two eased themselves off the speeder like they’d been riding it for days. Lando almost didn’t say a thing to either of them. He almost decided to leave Naboo with Chewbacca, go to Birren, and help the Resistance handle the situation they currently found themselves in, but remembering the look of dismay on Finn’s face when he sent a message to Lando was enough for the older man to know they needed a Jedi.

“Things have taken a turn on Birren.” A seriousness that challenged the darkness of the mantel in Ben’s backpack made Ben and Rey pause.

“Queen Carise sent her army against the Resistance. She’s managed to convince the rest of the galaxy that there’s a mole within the Resistance, one feeding the First Order intel. The core worlds won’t touch Birren if they think Queen Carise is exercising her monarchial sovereignty.” The news touched Rey first, sending the woman to narrow her eyes and utter a question.

“Are Finn and the others okay?”

Lando swallowed, unsure of the tight feeling in his throat. _Fear_? Eyes darker than before, Rey glared at the world around her, but if Lando looked long enough, he could see a battle in the woman’s eyes.

“I don’t know. Finn was able to get a message to me before contact was cut. Queen Carise has stated again and again that the Resistance can contact whoever they want, but it’s a lie. They’re surrounded by Birren’s forces.”

“There’s more.” Ben’s rumbled. Lando realized the young man had yet to blink. No longer caring if it was a good or bad idea to involve Ben and Rey as they were, Lando chased away any second thought he might have had. 

“They got Rose.”

In route to Birren, with Lando and Chewie flying The Hind, Ben smothered the pack against his back while he leaned against his seat. Awash with a spiraling amount of ideas as to what to do with the mantel next, Ben eyed The Hind’s operating system neatly covered by a seamless panel. Rising to his feet, the man crossed the hold quickly and pulled away the panel with a single hand while summoning a tool from Chewie’s discarded belongings. Pin like, the small manipulator was perfect for the job Ben had in mind.

“What are you doing?” Rey asked when she parted her eyes from a moment of rest.

“When we get to Birren, I’m going to have to leave the mantel behind on the ship.” Sticking the tool in his mouth, Ben began rearranging some wires while Rey waited for him to elaborate. Between Ben and Rey there was a leak, a constant flowing drain of power that with each passing second seem to simmer their minds into a restless scurry of desiring to sleep and knowing such a thing wasn’t possible in the mantel's presence. Secluding the wire he needed, Ben removed the tool from his mouth and continued.

“I can’t have this thing available for anyone to collect. Artifacts like this one have a way of calling on the weak minded.” Keeping his back to Rey, Ben waited for her to draw the connection on her own.

“You mean…Ben, are you going rewire the ship to self-destroy should it get into the wrong hands?” The smallest alarm reached the woman’s voice. When Ben didn’t answer, Rey rushed to his side hoping he hadn’t finished the job or worse yet, made it impossible to fix.

“Ben you can’t do this?” The words rushed fast from Rey’s mouth. They felt numb to her lips, but she placed a hand on his arm to get her point across. Snapping away from the wires, Ben caught with Rey in a breathless stare, a contemplative space that seemed far away from any artifact. Worried, approaching hopeless, and utterly exhausted, Rey begged Ben with her entire mind to reconsider.

“The Hind, the mantel, if we don’t turn over these items to the Queen…what’s that mean for us?”

 _Us_ , Ben rushed around the word. Dived and climbed it, only to jump from its height again and feel the swell of joy in his chest. Not _you_ , but _us_. That was how Rey saw this entire thing. Whatever happened to him, happened to her and so whatever befell her, also came upon him.

“The mantel cannot get into the wrong hands. I’m reluctant to hand it over to Queen Carise, but if it’s with her, then at least I know where it is.” Ben turned back to his work, singeing and melting one wire to mold to another.

“And if it’s with Queen Carise, then I know who to steal it from when this is all over.”

Biting her lip, Rey swayed with the idea and found she couldn’t stand how it sat in her stomach. Whatever was to come, it would be a close call.

“Move out of the way. Your fingers are too big to accurately suffuse the wires.” Rey whispered and Ben stepped out of the way, handing the tool over to her.

“Atmospheric scans show Birren’s troops surrounding the Resistance base with additional troops keeping the Twi’lek camp guarded as well as the fortress.” Lando circled the hologram of Birren before focusing it on a bird's-eye view of the Resistance Base lost to the forest of Birren. “There’s nearly fifty platoons surrounding that base, and there’s four of us.” Lando didn’t sound defeated. Far from it. He’d survived the Battle of Endor and then some. Chewie, a most powerful ally, stood next to him and a Jedi and the very son of General Leia and Han Solo. There was no room for failure and because those Lando fought with knew what they were up against and knew who waited for their help, there was hope.

“And additional twenty platoons between the Twi’lek camp and the fortress.” Lando concluded.

“I think a distraction is in order.” Lando commented. Chewie posed attacking by night.

“No, Queen Carise isn’t one to wait around before she starts to imprison and execute.” Lando mentioned.

“Where’s Rose?” Rey asked.

“She’s in the fortress. It’s not just her either, they have half the medical team locked in there.”

“Are there others coming?” Ben asked.

“I don’t think so. That message Finn got out was no accident. Queen Carise wants us here.” Lando stared down at the hologram of the fortress imaging the Queen sitting on her throne surrounded by silent chaos and waiting for that one person she most wanted to destroy.

“She wants him.” Lando frowned.

“If she wants me, then she can have me.” Ben answered, matching the grit in Lando’s voice with grit of his own.

“What about leading the platoons away from the Resistance base and towards the furthest point away from them, the Twi’lek camp?” Ben posed.

“No. The Twi’lek’s have few weapons. I think it should be the other way around. You take on the Resistance Base with the help of Lando and Chewie. That should be enough to withdraw some of the platoons surrounding the Twi’lek camp and the fortress. I’ll sneak into the fortress and get Rose and the others out.” The air stiffened with Rey’s conclusion of the plan. Ben didn’t like separating from Rey, and likewise, Rey felt a darkness over the plan, but couldn’t be sure if it was the mantel or something else. Stepping closer to the hologram, Ben eyed the Resistance base and seeped himself into the Force. He felt the many lives down below. The Resistance soldiers who woke that day not realizing the place they thought of as safe would turn on them so quickly. The Twi’lek camp as well hummed in the Force with a deep mourning, a desire for a home and for hope.

“This is the best plan we have.” Ben admitted, and finding the eyes of Chewie, Lando, and Rey on him, the man swore he heard the words of his mother in his ear.

“We face a powerful people. We’re outnumbered and between the four of us we have a lightsaber, a few blasters, a handful of bombs, a bowcaster, and that’s about it, but impossibility is the way of the Force. The margins we consider to be impassable are often the ones the Force guides us beyond.”

Birren’s forest breathed with a thick fog that had it not been for The Hind’s perfect navigational systems it would have been difficult to find a place to land. A patch of field surrounded by thick overgrowth and trees became the best option to land. Telling Lando and Chewie of the mantel, Ben warned them of the included measure that should someone other than them be the ones to board The Hind, it would self-destroy and take with it the mantel. At first unspeaking, Chewie later groaned his concern over the idea.

“I can’t let that mantel exist outside of its prison. The surrounding energy is dark, too dark. Either we destroy it should it come to that point, or it’s handed over to Queen Carise. Either way, I’m not allowing it off this planet unless it’s with me.” It wasn’t Ben’s words that convinced Chewie of his sincerity, but Ben’s sudden lapse into a boy again. A knowing fear Ben didn’t hide or shove away glistened in his eyes. Eyeing the bag Ben kept the object in, Chewie gestured to the false bottom seats surrounding The Hind’s small table.

“I think that would be a good place to hide it.”

By the time they entered the forest, the calls of insects had already picked back up again. The humidity attached to everything and added a layer of droplets to The Hind, making it appear that it had been there for hours. Lando, Rey, Ben, and Chewie already knew that Birren’s military were aware of their presence, that The Hind had entered their atmosphere, but it was unlikely they would bother with a mostly unarmed ship and instead be more interested in meeting the enemy before they even got to the Resistance base. While Lando fixed a new, semi-blaster proof cape around his shoulders, Chewie counted the bombs he had left in his bag, and Ben eyed the small hologram in his palm once more.

“It’s best if we part here.” Rey breathed, detaching the lightsaber from her side. The gesture, the one involving Rey removing a Jedi’s most sacred weapon from her side, sent waves through the Force. Ben wondered if she could feel it…if she could feel the generations of Jedi before her that acknowledged such a thing.

“I feel it too.” Rey whispered under her breath before holding out her lightsaber to Ben. While not entirely versed in the ways of Jedi and the traditions surrounding their practices, Lando and Chewie paused their work and stared at the woman’s fixed gaze on Ben. Sweat collected on both their foreheads, already Rey’s hair turned damp with the extra moisture in the air, Ben’s long face glistened with the light of day and his breathing ended with an inhale. At first it was impossible for Ben to look at the weapon created by Rey’s hands, but the more he stared into Rey’s eyes, the more his mind tilted toward understanding. She would not take the lightsaber back until he gave it back to her, and for him to rebuff the offer would be like rejecting Rey’s very heart. With a hand all too often used to maim, Ben hoped between the time he extended his fingers and when they touched the lightsaber a cosmic blessing from the Force would somehow form him into the being Rey saw every time she looked at him. The lightsaber’s casing, still warm from where it rested next to Rey, molded nicely with Ben’s hand. Looking back to Rey, Ben could do nothing but wait for her to turn away, to be the one to break him from adoration of her.

“May the Force be with you, Rey.” Spoken more in Rey’s mind then out loud, Ben spread the words like warmth and promises. Prepared to repeat the prayer, Rey instead had a better idea. Taking the collar of his shirt in one hand, Rey pulled Ben down to her lips, but really Ben’s mind was already there long before her fingers twisted into the fabric of his shirt. Rushed along by the coming danger, the two entered the same mindset, the same space, a plot of time that operated outside of the galaxy and belonged solely to them. Never getting enough of the man’s soft lips or the way they tasted, Rey pressed into Ben, allowed him to pull her closer, and still didn’t pull away even after Chewie let out a surprised chortle. Not a word more passed between Ben and Rey as the woman parted from the group and took up her stride for the fortress. Still she smiled when she heard Lando comment about the kiss.

From the near edge of the forest, Rey watched the fortress. At each tower and surrounding the perimeter were guards, their blasters at the ready, and faces made impassive by the speaking of coming violence. There was fear in the air. These soldiers knew of the Resistance’s will power and wanted nothing to do with it. They wanted peace, but their Queen, the woman they served, wanted something else. Circling the fortress, Rey located a weak spot. An area towards the back of the fortress where the wall was too high for the average person to climb without great assistance proved only to be protected by the routine pacing of a group of five soldiers. Stunning them would be easy, but doing it before one could call to the soldiers manning the front of the fortress was the hard part. With their backs turned, Rey passed through the forest, soundlessly targeted the guard furthest behind and from behind him waved a hand pass the crown of his head. The man passed out and fell to the grass. When the others turned, it was to find nothing. No guard and no indication of where he could have gone. The mention of not being able to wait till they got back to the main tower crossed over the four remaining guards while they called jests out into the forest only to be met with silence. The guards attention on the spot their counterpart once stood was enough for Rey to make her next move. Pushing from the forest, Rey incapacitated one guard with a kick to the head, another by taking the blaster aimed at her and shoving it back into the guard’s face, and as for the last two a fling of her arm was enough to send them into the forest. Leaving all five guards alive, Rey hoped she’d have enough time to enter the fortress and gain some cover.

Ascending the wall, Rey made quick work of getting to the other side and hiding in the courtyard behind a tree. Peeking around her cover, Rey found the courtyard mostly empty with the only guards present facing away from where she was and where she was going. The prison used to keep her and Ben when they first arrived on Birren had to be where Rose and the others were. Taking a final quick look at the occupied guards, Rey walked into the open, unhurried and knowing she could make it to the prison’s opening. Crossing the courtyard, Rey’s steps slowed, her attention on the present drifted, and the sweat across her brow stung like ice. One foot in front of the other until the very action seemed to fight her and then a call from somewhere else beckoned for her.

“They’re not in there.” Rey said to herself. Stopping halfway from her target, a slender tower built high and imposing, the Jedi faced the other direction, toward the main tower.

 _Rey_ , a voice summoned Rey, called to her like one might a child or student.

Rey didn’t hear the explosion beyond the fortress, the one that might have told her that Ben, Lando, and Chewie had successfully gained entrance into the base and the Resistance was now fighting back. Ignoring the guards running for the battle, ignoring the danger, ignoring even the warning brewing deep inside her, Rey walked toward the main tower. At a service entry Rey found no resistance when she opened the panel. Rey had been in the queen’s court before and was familiar with how large it was, but that meant nothing compared to the darkness in front of her. Reaching a hand out into the darkness, Rey encountered cold, only cold. One foot out and one foot in, Rey thought about abandoning this way, at least she told herself there were other ways. Before she could commit to a decision a hand made of winter grabbed her wrist and pulled her in. The door slid closed behind Rey, and it was as if she had never been there.


	42. chapter 42

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben helps the Resistance while Rey tries to find the way out of The Boar's trap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters don't belong to me they belong to the mouse. 
> 
> Life has been super busy. Thank you all for your patience. I'm hoping to finish this story soon. Outline for the next Reylo story is about half-way done.

“What’s happened?” A barely coherent Resistance soldier asked of his partner standing close to him. Unseen, the partner was lost to the darkness. 

“There was an explosion. Queen Carise’s forces sent a few bombs our way.” The partner’s voice admitted, but there was no hint of defeat in her voice. 

“You got hit good. The explosion happened next to a tree. It created a cavern we fell into, but the roots caught most of the rubble.” 

“Are we trapped?” The man asked, touching his forehand and feeling the fresh flow of blood. 

“Yeah, we’re trapped.” There was silence before the man asked of the others they’d been with only moments before the explosion. 

“They’re okay. Trapped down here with the rest of us. Don’t worry, General Poe or General Finn will get us out of here soon enough.” As if those were the magic words, the slide of stone on stone boomed through the cavern before streaks of light from above sliced through the dust. For the first time the woman got a better look at her partner, at the gash claiming most of his face, and the puddle of blood around his body. 

“Is that…” The man asked, hand over his brow, but he quickly chalked up the sudden vision of Kylo Ren standing above them with his arms raised and the rock and rubble floating to the heavens as a product of the bloody wound on his head. When the others trapped beneath the debris bore their eyes to the one responsible for their release a hush thick as night and packed with fear rushed over the small crowd. 

“It’s all right.” A familiar voice this time. Poe, their general and a man they could trust.

“He’s with us. Come on, let’s get you all out of there.” The General reached into the darkness and offering his hand pulled the first of his man to his feet. 

Individually, the soldiers crawled from below and came back to the light, but not a single one could look away from the massive form of Kylo Ren now made even more imposing with a crown of boulders over his head. Seamless, without even a tremble to his arms, the man once capable of striking a quiet fear into the heart of every soldier, now appeared as one of them. When the last of the soldiers climbed from the hollow, Ben let the rubble fall back into place and ignoring the attention still glued to him, he passed through the crowd bent on ending this part of the fight and rejoining Rey in the fortress. 

When Ben’s eyes fell on the wounded soldier and the waterfall of blood coming down his face the slightest hesitation kept him from doing what he knew Rey would do. Shrugging off the initial concern, Ben reached out his fingertips and hovered them over the wound. The man and his partner, unsure of what Ben was doing, shrank away and while their fear permeated the Force, Ben let it go and focused on the wound. Slowly, from the edges moving inward, the wound sealed and like a fresh breath of air, the man’s attention cleared. Mouths agape, the two soldiers watched as Ben shook the tingling from his hand and walked away with not another word to them. 

At the front of the platoon, Poe watched the entire event, hands on his hips and a forced, patient glint in his eyes. When Ben met him at the front of the platoon, Poe didn’t remove the weight of his gaze from Ben. 

“What?” Ben eventually asked and followed Poe’s gaze from himself to the two soldiers still struck by what they’d just witnessed. 

“Hm, nothing.” Half-amused, half-serious, Poe reminded himself that Ben had spent the past few years surround by those who would sooner take a blaster shot to the knee than question him.

“No. It’s something…what?” Ben pressed, not connecting the dots. 

“Rey usually asks before she pulls a Jedi trick like that. You know, just so they’re prepared.” Poe waited for Ben’s response, but when none came, he turned back to leading his soldiers to where the others waited for them.

“He was practically unconscious, anyway.” Ben’s late answer came more as a reply to himself than a retort. 

“We’ve cleared the base camp of Queen Carise’s men. They’re pulling back into the fortress as we speak.” Lieutenant Connix wasted no time updating Poe and paid little attention to the man, once thought of as an enemy, strolling behind them. Most of the Resistance thought Ben’s help in escaping Yavin 4 was a fluke, a result of something most had yet to understand, but a few guessed had to do with Rey. But now was no time for explanation or delay. It was time to march forward and help Rey release Rose and the others from their prison. 

“Alright, we’re going divide ourselves into three groups. One group goes with Lieutenant Connix to surround the fortress, one with Poe to take on the group of soldiers blocking the main entrance, and the third will follow me. Once an entrance forms, we’re going in.” Finn spoke decisively and waited for questions, but as he suspected his soldiers were ready to end this once and for all. Today would be the last day they pretend for the sake of diplomacy that Queen Carise was ever on their side.

Taking the position next to Poe, Ben walked with the general and when the forest parted and the numerous platoons of soldiers appeared with their weapons drawn and ready, Ben ignited Rey’s lightsaber and let its yellow beam carry hope the way Rey intended it to. 

Cold, so much cold. Pouring and clasping, engraving and biting, the cold around Rey could get no worse, or at least she thought it couldn’t. Chills from her fingertips to her feet ran wild while the woman fought herself for control over her thoughts. Bubbling up from deepest memories potent, hidden lacerations were the callings of Rey’s parents. Sweet words of love and endearing promises were replaced with cries. In a flash, the world around Rey changed from a place of darkness to a brimming desert whose shine blinded Rey momentarily. Hand over her brow, Rey surveyed the area around her and found a vastness she knew all too well. 

Jakku, Rey thought. The pale sand around her tore at the bare parts of her body while the sun above bit its heat into her shoulders and scalp. The dryness of such a place took the moisture from Rey’s mouth, but before she could lick her lips, the cry of a child rang close in her ears. Snapping her head in the cry's direction, Rey saw the little girl she knew to be herself. The woman, once kneeled before the child, now stood and pushed little Rey’s form into the awaiting grasp of Unkar Plutt. The woman, Rey’s mother, turned away from her child, but this did nothing to halt little Rey. The little girl squirmed from Unkar Plutt’s unforgiving hold and rushed back to her mother, but this time it was her father that caught her and forced her back into Unkar’s hold. 

“We have to go.” Rey’s father said hastily.

“No.” Rey said once to herself, before yelling the word across the desert and racing toward the ship, preparing to take off. Light as a feather, Rey had learned long ago how to run across sand and not have it take speed away from her. 

“No!” The woman screamed as the vessel’s engines fired up. The vessel pointed itself to the sky and took off, leaving both little Rey and Rey behind. When Rey turned from the sight of the ship leaving Jakku’s atmosphere, there was no sign of Unkar or little Rey. There was nothing but desert and sand. 

“What is this place?” Rey asked aloud. Within the Force Rey’s attention gulped at the amplification of her sadness, fears, loss, and agony. Every memory she had of her parents and then some rolled through her head faster and faster. 

“Don’t you see?” A scratching voice asked from behind Rey, but the woman didn’t need to turn around to know who was speaking. The sound of sifting sand drew closer until rounding Rey’s vision came the sight of Palpatine no longer supported but walking on his own with a hood covering most of his face. Yellow-red eyes peered from beneath the hood and for the smallest moment even appeared forgiving and understanding. 

“You’re not real.” Rey spat, but hated the way her words carried so much venom. 

“Silly girl, of course I am not. You killed me.”

“Then what is this?” Narrowing her eyes, Rey knew exactly where she was on Jakku. She knew every damn hill of sand on this planet. 

“This is the truth. A mirror of sorts, forcing you to look at yourself.” Palpatine chuckled, before making the daring choice to put his back to Rey. 

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” The old man croaked and looked directly at the sun.

“How do I get out of here?” Rey asked, but already she sensed this phantom would be of no use to her leaving wherever she was. 

“You don’t think it’s peculiar?” Palpatine asked. 

“You stumble into a box of mirrors and the first thing you think of is Jakku. The day you were separated from your parents. The last time you saw them alive.” A clutch at Rey’s chest caused the woman to tense as if shot by a blaster. 

“You come here and you can’t think of Finn, or Han, or the time you escaped Jakku in that excuse of a ship. You can’t recall Leia, either. Go ahead. Try to think of Leia.” Palpatine’s voice soothed, and the very notion of such a gesture coming from him made Rey want to toss him into nothingness where he belonged. Already the tips of Rey’s thoughts sunk into memories of Leia, but in place of accurate recollection there was only numbness. There was nothing there. 

“Ah, you see…all that is good comes to pass and what is left but what truly hurts you.” Palpatine turned back to Rey, a smile on his face. 

“That pain is your true calling. Why else would the Force grant you such a tool as agony if only to stow it away.” Rey didn’t realize Palpatine was coming closer until he was inches from her face and his voice just a whisper. 

“Give in to the darkness, Rey. It is your calling, your fate, your birthright.” Lightning came from the clear sky above and struck Rey. The woman reeled back and instead of falling into sand she fell into nothingness. The world around her snapped into darkness and she was falling for felt like forever. 

“This is something else,” Queen Carise shook her head at The Boar, impressed and a bit terrified of what he’d done. Watching the hologram image of the Jedi Rey balled up on the floor, Queen Carise tasted victory in the air. Birren and so much more would be hers for good. 

“It is. The technology used to create the box came from Mandalore and Kamino. Their abilities to manipulate human genetics have created a most impressive device. With a few fine adjustments from me, I’ve molded a more deadly machine.” The Boar stood by, watching how pleased the Queen was with his success.

“Just the right size for the part of the fortress the Jedi is in and well equip to contain her outbursts should she have any. The outside of the box comes with reinforced zillo plates and includes a cloaking mechanism to make it near impossible to see from the outside or the inside. The last time I used this technology, it was during the Clone Wars. I captured a Jedi for a Hutt who paid me handsomely. He wasn’t in there over ten minutes before he lost his mind.” 

“What do you think she sees right now?” Queen Carise dared to ask The Boar. 

“It’s always a mystery. Sometimes they speak of what they see, but most of the time they just scream.” 

Birren’s sky churned with the puff of blaster fire and explosions, but the Resistance only took this as a sign that they were close to an end. For those following directly behind Poe and Ben, the general’s steady calls to those around him became a victory chant and a promise that to breach the massive doors of the fortress was to inherit a treasure more refined than any jewel or credit the galaxy could offer. Mesmerized by the roaring, yellow saber in Ben Solo’s hand, those same soldiers found themselves imbued with something frenzied, but eternal. For those who believed, they knew that feeling of sudden calm in the middle of a battle to be nothing else but the Force. The Force raced through them, filled them with hope, and made every one of their shots mean something. For the initiated it felt like their entire body was ringing with life and while they felt distracted by the graceful plummet of the yellow lightsaber, it was balanced with complete understanding.

Once beyond the fortress’ threshold, Finn’s group flooded the Queen’s court and from across the battle the general caught sight of Rose with a stolen blaster aimed for the nearest guard and the troop of Resistance medics and Twi’leks behind her. Finn, somehow both amazed and sheepishly not surprised, watched as Rose closed in on the guards while Finn’s group worked from the other side. When shouts of victory began to ring out, Finn was first to regroup his people and send squads out deeper into the fortress to search for the Queen and her closest constituents.

“You made it out.” Finn said to himself and closed the gap between himself and Rose quickly. Picking the woman up, Finn had joy enough to embrace the woman and never let go. Rose buried her face in Finn’s chest, taking in the smell of fire and sweat. Pulling away from each other the two shared a kiss in the middle of the Queen’s court, lip to lip the two only closed their eyes briefly unwilling to keep each other’s eyes off of the other. 

“The Twi’leks…” Finn began but lost the rest of the question as more Twi’leks joined the Resistance. 

“They came to our aid.” Rose was brimming, just as thankful as Finn was. 

“Took you long enough to show up.” Rose smiled and gestured down the hall she and the medics had come from. 

“We got to the party twenty minutes before you did, in fact we almost met you at the door.” Looking over the crowd, Rose caught sight of Lando, Chewie, Poe, and Ben, but no Rey. 

“Where’s Rey?” Rose asked. 

“She’s not with you?” 

“Well…I’d say it’s time to get out of here.” Queen Carise said with not a hint of uncertainty. For the Queen, getting away from the fortress was as easy as taking one of the many secret tunnels, and winning this minor battle on Birren was as easy as losing her fortress. 

“They are very foolish.” Queen Carise mentioned to The Boar. 

“I’m going to have my military blow this place to bits, will that box of yours survive such a thing?” The Queen asked, unconcerned with what the answer would be. Dead or alive, it didn’t matter what form the Jedi was in.

“That box of mine could survive getting pummeled by a dreadnought.”

“Good to know.” A flick of her hand and the order was given to blow the fortress to bits. 

_Rey_ , her name danced in her head like a prayer or a summon. Rey was somewhere she’d never been before, but perhaps had seen in a story or somewhere else. At the edge of a tall building overlooking a city that clashed with a golden sunset and an ebony night, the woman looked over all of it with a sense of claim. This could be hers, if all she did was reach out and take it. Behind her she heard the ancient prayers of Jedi, but they were just ghosts now. 

_Rey_ , the voice called again. 

“Where am I?” Rey spoke, not wanting Palpatine to hear the voice in her head. 

“Coruscant.” The name had an accusation to it, and by its utterance Rey felt rage in the pit of her stomach. 

“We’re standing in a temple.” Rey collected those far off memories she had of children her age telling stories of a place made of gold where all the Jedi used to live. Now was different. Now, Coruscant was caked in all the Empire had to make the planet a place of Imperial worship. 

“This is yours,” Palpatine reminded Rey, but at the same moment her name was announced in her mind a third time and by the voice behind such a call Rey brimmed with a light Coruscant could never have experienced even on its best day. 

“Ben, we can’t find Rey!” Finn’s voice noted concern, but the general in him was ready to listen and ready to act immediately. Looking to Ben, the general saw a man wholly focused on something far away and beyond the reach of any voice save the one he was trying to contact. Blind to the world around him, Ben seemed to be in another place entirely. Finn was prepared to tap him on the shoulder or perhaps shake him a bit, but stopped when Ben opened his mouth and spoke slowly, almost gutturally. 

“Quietly, gather your people and get them out of here.” Ben spoke slowly, and with each word a new terror raced over Finn and Poe’s face. 

“There are explosives wired into the ceiling. Get your people out.” Ben locked eyes with Finn, and for a moment the man thought he saw Leia looking at him. Finn watched as Ben’s face remained impassive despite the bright light above pouring down over the Queen’s Court. First the light, then the sudden shake and the draw of air as the ceiling’s glass was ruptured. Ben inhaled deeply, took in air like it were a river and he were an ocean. Rattled through and through with the sounds of explosives, Finn glanced up to find the world above crashing down closer and closer to him and the others. Finn recalled taking Rose’s hand, perhaps for the last time before closing his eyes. He hoped Rey was okay, where ever she was. 

_I need you_ , that same voice, Ben’s voice. Rey remembered Ben. She couldn’t recall Han or Leia or Luke Skywalker, but she remembered Ben. She felt his gaze on her, felt his fingertips touching hers, felt their lips held tightly together while a war waged above. Her entire body declared Ben’s name and for the first time Palpatine looked concerned. 

“What is this?” The old man whispered. 

“You choose the same path as Anakin Skywalker.” Palpatine’s voice became a threat. 

“He chose love and in the end, it still brought him to me.” Rey watched as Palpatine’s face was swallowed whole by light and looking out over Coruscant, her birthright, the sinking sun grew once more and stretched over the city blessing it with warmth. The light grew, wrapped around Rey, and then intensified until Rey swore she felt fire in her veins. 

When Poe opened his eyes, it was to find Ben Solo with his arms out and legs bent slightly as if carrying a mighty weight. When the ringing in his ears receded, Poe looked up and found hundreds, no thousands, of stained glass pieces and bits of fortress suspended above him, above everyone. One by one the eyes of Poe’s soldiers opened and after they realized themselves not to dead, they looked to the only source of such grace. Something stronger than what hustled the soldiers along earlier through the battle now sank into the Queen’s court. A wind or breeze, but nonetheless it was soft and reverberating with life. Locking eyes with Ben, Poe almost didn’t recognize him. He was too much his father and too much his mother and so much like his uncle and there, right there where Ben’s eyes met the world around him, was the promise of somebody the legends once called Anakin Skywalker. A breath from Ben and Poe broke his gaze on the man. 

“Quick! Everyone out now!” The soldiers and the Twi’leks hurried, their pace matching what it was earlier when they raced into battle. 

In a heave, Ben forced the rubble higher into the air and taking his left hand he outstretched it and concentrated. 

“What’s he doing?” Finn asked Poe, but they didn’t have to wait long. At the base of the Queen’s throne a crack in the floor opened, widened and swallowed the high seat whole. The wall behind the throne shook and brick by brick rolled from place to reveal a separate room left dark, too dark. Another shake cracked the tiles below and soon the umber earth of Birren came through. Streaks of lightening in the dark outlined a massive box, one that nearly met the ceiling. Ben focused harder until it became near impossible to draw breath into his lungs. The electricity curtain gave way revealing the plated armor of a zillo beast, but then this too was peeled away.

_Be with me_ , the light surrounding Rey beat with the small phrase over and over again until it reached her blood, her bones, her soul. Like sinking into water, Rey felt a gentle pull leading her deeper within herself. The light never left and as she noticed there was no sign of Palpatine here. Rey recalled Leia, her dark eyes and sad smile, her fearlessness and dedication. Han and his half-smile and dry humor. Luke and all the compassion he held and freely gave. Finn and his breathtaking courage and life changing friendship. She could recall them. 

_Be with me_ , Ben’s voice was at Rey’s ear and when she opened her eyes Rey was greeted by a breeze. Beneath a half collapsing fortress was Ben Solo, his might keeping the rubble from completely devouring the innocent world around him. Ben’s hand extended more with his palm patient. Rey didn’t hesitate, she left the box behind her and walked towards Ben. 


	43. Chapter 43

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of Glory of Alderaan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to thank all of you for the hits, kudos, and comments. Thank you all so much!  
> I do have the outline for the next fanfic ready to go and it's just shy of 4,000 words which in my experience yields about 100,000 words worth of fic. I guess we'll see. I'm going to take some time and get a few chapters ready before I post. The next fanfic is kind of a retelling of Katabasis which was based around Rey going in search of Ben in the WBW and it was written not long after I saw TROS so it was a 9,000 word knee jerk reaction. After all these months I've decided to tell a better version of this story and give it the time it deserves. I haven't settled on a name, but you can expect a posting for this fic by November. I'm going to warn you all that this fic will be gritty and angsty, but with a happy ending. If you're wanting a hint of what to expect then go listen to Keaton Henson's song called Prayer. I'm really excited, but I'm pretty sure I'll be crying for the first half of the story. Another thing! I do plan on continuing Glory of Alderaan, like continuing the story because there's more I want to tell, but that won't be for a while. Again, thank you all so much. I plan on getting to comments as soon as I have the time. 
> 
> These characters don't belong to me, they belong to the mouse.

Queen Carise survived her fair share of unexpected tribulations and without fail had twisted fate time and time again to bring her where she desired to be. Now felt different, even if she wouldn’t admit that to herself. Before General Poe Dameron broke into the inner sanctum of the fortress, the smell of blaster fire and crumbling stone had already reached her nose, but instead of allowing an urgency’s retreat to take hold of her she commanded her few guards to her side. Watching the battle smoke enter from under the door, Queen Carise glared at the Boar only to find the man returning the same look. The Boar hadn’t lied to her. The box he’d made was surely strong and inescapable, but hubris was a folly most in power fell to at least once. Queen Carise realized she wasn’t dealing with a Jedi of legend. Not some padawan fresh from Coruscant or a recently ordained knight. This was something else, something powerful…something terrifying. Smiling, Queen Carise raised her head when General Poe’s soldiers bridged the door. 

Guided out and into the remains of her fortress, Queen Carise looked down on the skeleton of her prestige. It was a high price to pay, but not close enough to bankrupt her. The Queen’s throne now a tumbled piece of severed brick and stone became the woman’s final seat before a court was called. As the people of Birren gathered along with the Twi’leks a released calm suffused the air and it was as if a spell had been broken. The people of Birren, once rancid with wanting to see the destruction of a man, now pieced together their returned integrity. They saw Ben Solo standing before a bowed queen under the light of a freed home, and not one could shake from themselves the undeniable light that rested on his shoulders. Had this not been the man who struck fear as unending fire into the hearts of all? Wasn’t he the one who brought despair to the galaxy, who helped enslave it by the side of Supreme Leader Snoke? Kylo Ren, that had been his name, and it was he who swallowed armies whole, leaving only skeletons to speak of what had happened. 

Who was this then? The Twi’lek leaders approached Ben and spoke to him as a brother. The Resistance soldiers chased away their fear of this man, and the generals kept him close as a lamp in the middle of the night. The Jedi and Ben Solo held each other’s hands, each refusing to part from one another and by that gesture alone the people of Birren stirred with hope. Birren witnessed a transformation, not just of their home, but of a perception.

“You’ll need a core world mitigator if you’re to take judgment against me.” Queen Carise sat with her back straight and the Boar standing next to her. 

“As for the Boar, he was acting under the command of Birren’s royal decree and has no further business. He can go.” Queen Carise did not want another advisory once she slipped away from Birren. 

“Oh, he’s not going anywhere.” Poe growled, his hand ready on a one of the many blasters he had on him. The Queen pursed her lips and glowered at Poe. _Time will tell_ , she thought. A tinge or sting caught the Queen’s attention and turning her gaze behind Poe she found Ben Solo’s unblinking stare on her. Cocking her head, the Queen didn’t hold back a malicious barrage of venomous thoughts and deadly oaths, and then there it was: a flinch. Ben flinched as if understanding everything she’d just thought. Wanting to test her theory, the Queen barreled her gaze into Ben’s and like aiming a blaster, the woman unleased every threat she could muster. _You will not escape me. Your Jedi will not escape me. Everything you’ve done to me will be done to you tenfold._

For all of this Ben cocked his head and soft as a whisper the Queen heard a mutter. The words were soft, incapable of being understood, but the volume increased to reveal a repetition of words. In tone first and then by words, the Queen understood what was being put into her head; it was Alderaan’s pledge of humanity and its last line was the one Ben’s unspoken voice emphasized the most. “All of us are Alderaan and so all of us represent the unspoken, unheard, mislead, and beaten and so if we ignore our pledge may we be held accountable”. The Queen scowled, pulled her lips back, and prepared to unleash a last assault on Ben, but before she could a resounding voice filled the concave fortress. 

“I am a core world mitigator.” A woman, now known to Ben and Rey as Sabé, stepped over the rubble and joined Poe, Finn, Rose, Lando, Chewie, Maz, Ben, and Rey. Dressed in full Naboo attire, Sabé held a regality Queen Carise could only wish to have. Sabé glanced over the fortress, the crumbled stones, broken stained glass, and the fully destroyed throne. 

“It appears you’ll have a story to tell me later.” Sabé glanced to Ben with a smile before refocusing her attention on the Boar. 

“The Boar, you’re wanted in at least three systems, so no you won’t be going anywhere.” Sabé swung her attention around the room and found there to be plenty of witnesses and court officials to hold a preliminary court something that would solidify Queen Carise as ousted and the Boar on his way to a well-organized prison. With a small smile to herself Sabé thought of Padme and of the many times the woman stood against a senate bent on toppling on top of her. Surrounded by a fallen monarch’s lies and deception, Sabé could picture Padme with a stern brow, promising eyes, and assured composure. For Padme, no injustice was too far out of reach for the right will of heart. 

“Your grandmother would have been proud of you.” Sabé remarked to Ben quietly.

“I propose a preliminary trail since the Queen’s court is gathered and the people of Birren are here. I think something to solidify Queen Carise and the Boar’s arrest wouldn’t be too out of the realm of justice.” A hush ran through the crowd. The gathered officials of the Queen’s court muttered to each other before a final call was given in agreement. “Very well,” Sabé summoned the will of law and silenced her own opinions as she listed the Queen’s many offenses, stopping at each to hear the court’s answer. For too many years the wrong person had ruled over the people of Alderaan and Arkanis and now was the time to list every offense and show to the people what their kingdom had come to.

“I’ll end with the Queen’s latest offense and that is the intention to not give Ben Solo a fair trial. Including the Boar in this trial is proof enough that Queen Carise had no interest in serving justice.” Sabé was unsure how the court would take the mention of Ben Solo, but to her astonishment not a single dissent was given, not even the gathered crowd made a noise suggesting the Queen had done right by Ben Solo. Starting with a quiet chortle and ending with a near cackle, the Queen finally came to her feet prepared to deliver her final blow. 

“This…this is where I speak,” Queen Carise, composed as a predator before her prey, looked to her people, her court, and finally to the Resistance. 

“That box you see behind me, the one created by the Boar is made of materials honed by Mandalore’s greatest scientists. It houses more energy than ten Star Destroyers. It’s core alone could fuel all of Birren’s power needs for a decade. Its manifest properties and exhibitor shields are capable of blocking out the radiation of a collapsing star. This box was intended to be used against rogue Jedi. This box was created with the sole purpose of controlling those who have more power than entire armies. The Jedi. The Sith. None of us have escaped the power of these people. Jedha, Alderaan, Scarif, the Hosnian system. Think of the lives lost, the generations gone to waste, and the peoples forever changed. The kind of power it would take to not only destroy the box, but level it along with my fortress is unprecedented.” Queen Carise raised a single finger to Ben and Rey.

“They broke the box as if it were nothing and yet you all stand here looking to me as if I’m the one to be feared and persecuted.” 

A swallowing silence rested over the crowd, with some minds made up and others shuffling to find the truth. The court, for the first time, looked to one another unsure. “I’ll say it now for everyone to hear…Ben Solo has passed his trials. The court of Queen Carise on the planet of Birren finds Ben Solo a free man and one exonerated of his acts against the galaxy. He’s maintained the Pathos of the Elders.” The court seemed to collapse in on itself. Had this been the Queen’s true intention all along? Was this some kind of misunderstanding, the kind that lead a monarch to do whatever she had to do to protect her people and that’s why the box was necessary? 

“Now, I leave this to your hands. You want to arrest me, then go ahead. I doubt I’ll find such an aggravated and ungrateful greeting where ever it is I’m sent to, but remember this… our great galaxy has fallen into the hands of mighty Force users too many times and every time, every single time, it leads to unrest on such a grand scale that we’re still picking up the wreckage left behind by Emperor Palpatine. These two are dangerous, mark my words. It would be better to send a redeemed man to death than to test fate’s memory.” Queen Carise raised her head and gave a final look to the court one of imploring demand. Sabé allowed the words to settle and picked up where she left off. 

“There seems to be a vast neglect for what is substantial in this galaxy, and that is the Force. Believe it or not, consider it real or fake, no one person in here can deny the truth that is Ben Solo and Rey of Jakku. War happens even without the involvement of Force users. The Galactic Empire had the Death Star, they had fleets upon fleets of Stormtroopers, scientists, machinery, droids, and more without Darth Vader or even Palpatine. Hate, the desire for power is present despite Force users. I offer you a different outlook, one in which Luke Skywalker never existed and Rey never joined the Resistance. Even the First Order without the mighty Kylo Ren would still be a beast blanketing the galaxy. Force users are here, their human like every one of you, they make mistakes, they learn, they move on and when they do they become boons to all forms of life. Vivid, driven, unmistakable, and fully present they are, to their core, beings of balance. I stake my entire legacy, as Padme Amidala’s handmaiden to civil servant on Ben Solo.” Sabé finished her address and prayed that it would not bring an end to Padme’s grandson. 

“Since Queen Carise cannot fulfill her duties, it is no longer up to her to decide Ben Solo’s fate. That decision rests on your shoulders.” The meat of the issue reared its head as Sabé continued to address to the court. “While I am a part of Queen Carise’s court, I cannot join you in this decision. It must be left to you. You’ve heard Queen Carise’s side, you’re aware of Ben Solo’s trials, and you understand the breadth of his affinity to change.” Sabé bowed to the court. 

“I expect to hear from all of you before the next day.” 

Ben and Rey remained in place among the wreckage as the fortress slowly emptied of people. For Ben the past few hours were nearly a dream with only the aches in his body as proof he’d actually been involved with what his memories portrayed. For Rey she had yet to take her eyes from the Boar, and without Ben’s hand in hers it felt as though she were aloft and floating. Although her head spun and the tissue surrounding her ears and face throbbed with sharp pains, Rey could not take her eyes off the man who’d been responsible for so much of her distress. 

_You could_ …a voice promised. Was it her own voice? Rey shook her head. No good would come from her killing the Boar. 

_He is a disease among us_ …again another thought and one Rey leaned on a bit before ignoring. Rey dropped Ben’s hand, stepped forward, and as she did the Boar looked up at her from his seat on the broken throne next to Queen Carise. Finn, Poe, the others watched Rey in unsure curiosity as she opened her palm, almost ready to summon her weapon. The Boar frowned and as he did those eyes of his became pure poison. Rey could sense the man’s hate for her, could nearly taste the decay of his soul, but not a single drop of fear for what she could do to him, what would be so easy to do to him. Now standing above him, Rey fought back tears. 

“I forgive you.” The woman mustered. 

“I know this means nothing to you, but it is true.” 

The Boar sneered, pleased he’d find no threat in the woman. 

“However, should you attack me or my family or the Resistance or anyone who knows my name, I will come for you.” Rey’s voice dropped to a whisper, and she bent down to deliver the ending of her message. 

“And what that box did to me is nothing compared to what I’ll do to you.” The Jedi and the Boar poured into each other’s gaze. There it was, a seed of fear. The Boar knew what the box was and knew what it could do.

“You are very good at what you do. You manipulate, take what isn’t yours, you hurt others with no retribution on yourself. Perhaps it is good we both met because I can tell up until now no one has ever told you to your face what you’ve been denying your entire life. You have the Force. The very thing you hate about Ben and about me exists in you.” Rey didn’t bother with the Boar after her last word. She never saw the crawling self-loath that entered the Boar’s eyes and fixed itself to his mind. The Queen and the Boar watched the Jedi leave with her beloved, unable to take their eyes off of her. 

Somewhere over Mustafar where the lava still sputtered and red fire still claimed some portion of the planet, albeit a tiny portion, Rey steadied the Millennium Falcon over a chasm of boiling earth. Ben opened the Falcon’s ramp, felt the harsh gust of pure fire’s breath on his neck and face, and not spending another second contemplating what he was about to do he leaned Palpatine’s mantel, the one from his throne, over the ramp and dropped it. Watching the solid piece fall faster than anything Ben had ever seen, he questioned if the mantel knew what was happening. If it knew, somehow, that its fate was to burn. Closing the ramp, Ben didn’t have to mention a word to Rey before she took the Millennium Falcon out of Mustafar’s atmosphere and headed somewhere else. 

“She flies better without that thing on board.” Rey mentioned to Ben when he took the co-pilot’s seat. 

“She does.” Ben answered the moment Rey put the Falcon in to hyperspace. There would be some time together, alone on the Falcon, lost to space. Rey pulled her legs up to her chest, leaned her head against the seat, and watched the blue-white of space flash by. 

“There was so much of Palpatine where I was.” Rey’s voice, soft and barely able to sound over the hum of the Falcon, mentioned for the first time the box. Ben felt it coming, knew it would be only a matter of time before she brought it up. It was one of the reasons why Ben asked Sabé if it would be appropriate to leave Birren. He wanted to get away from the crowds, away from the many feelings of others that bombarded and washed over him and Rey. He knew they both needed a fresh breath of mental air. 

“You’re going to have a lot of nightmares. You’ll continue to hear voices.” Ben looked to Rey when he spoke of the voices. Even if Ben didn’t know Rey, Ben knew what instances like what Rey went through could do to the psyche. “Those voices, while they are a part of you, do not define you.” Ben’s gaze, both a mix of utter tenderness and anger over her pain, promised Rey, swore to her, that he would be there. 

“You brought me back to myself.” Rey remembered the light Ben showed her, the one that took her out of the box. 

“You did the same for me.” Ben smiled. “I don’t think this will be the last time we’ll need each other’s help.” Rey laughed at the one. Ben was right, they’d be in each other’s orbit the rest of their existence. 

It was early evening when Ben and Rey arrived on Naboo. For a time the two visited the Twi’leks who’d recently moved from Birren to Naboo and while Rey got a good laugh at Ben playing a game of keep away with the Twi’lek children, the happy air was soon changed at the arrival of Poe and Finn. Receiving word from Varykino’s villa, the two excused themselves and walked back to the lakeside retreat. There was joy as Rey ran into the arms of Finn first and then Rose and Chewie, but soft talk of travel turned to more serious matters. 

“The vote should be complete soon. We wanted to be here with you when you got it.” Poe, his face somber and knowing, filled the silence when the real reason for their arrival finally took hold. 

“I do believe, Master Ben, that the odds are in your favor.” Threepio added.

“And if they aren’t, then I’ll be here to get you two as far from this place as possible.” Lando boomed his promise and before Ben could interrupt, the old general continued. 

“I won’t hear it. The Resistance is backing you on this. Those soldiers you saved are backing you. Those Twi’leks out there are backing you.” 

“It’s true, Ben. We’ve seen enough to know.” Finn added. Ben was beside himself. He didn’t know what to say. He felt completely undeserving. “Come on, seeing you guys is great, but Sabé promised me one of my favorite Naboo dishes.” Lando laughed and ascended the stairs with Rose, Poe, Finn, Threepio, R2-D2, BB-8, and Maz in his wake. Chewie remained back, waiting for this moment. A soft grunt to Rey told the woman everything she needed to know, and so she as well left Ben and Chewie at the base of the villa. 

“You don’t have to do this.” Ben spoke first, wanting to relieve Chewie of any circumstance he found himself in. For a long time Ben thought he knew what Han meant to Chewie, but it was only after killing his father did his mind flood with Chewie’s most sincere pain. A bond most unbreakable had been severed and forever that wound would be on Chewie’s heart. Ben knew that. Taking a seat on a nearby step, Chewie invited Ben to sit next to him. A seriousness reserved for something more than battles and bad odds filled the air, and Ben waited for Chewie to speak. The Wookiee started with how he and Han had met, something Ben already knew, but wanted to be reminded of anyway. Chewie then spoke of Han’s life, his many mistakes, his courage, bravery, his humor and wit, his love for Leia and brotherhood with Luke. His misunderstanding of the Force and eventual respect. The way he spoke and how he fought. The men who owed their life to him and the many enemies who’d never forget him. Chewie went on about Ben’s father and then ended his pledge by speaking of Han’s greatest love, that which he had for his son. Chewie paused after this and looked up at the stars. A peaceful wash came over the Wookiee and so filled Ben. The Wookiee gave this feeling a name and told Han’s son that it was his father. His father would always live in Ben and so long as that was the truth, the Wookiee would be present in Ben’s life. 

It would be hours later, almost close to the middle of the night when Sabé received an encoded transmission from Birren. Before the subtle ting of a message silenced the room there had been stories, some laughter even, and the ease of friendship. Sabé didn’t hesitate. She accepted the transmission and asked Ben if he wished to see in private to which the man shook his head. Appearing quickly was the image of one of the court officials. Exhausted, a bit unkempt, the woman held tight to a datapad and read. 

“The Court of Birren rules fifteen to fourteen in favor of acknowledgment of Ben Solo’s Pathos of the Elders. The Court of Birren, as a member of a greater galaxy, finds Ben Solo’s actions during the trials to be dignified and well within acceptance of this planet. Before the galaxy the Court of Birren declares Ben Solo a free man.” The message went on, but all the words were dizzy to Ben’s ears. He was free, just like that, as moving as a tip in scale the man, once Kylo Ren, was now free. It was Rey’s hand that brought him back to the present. The room was silent now, each person taking a moment to reevaluate their own future. The war felt like a lifetime and even after Exegol not much seemed to change. This felt different. It felt like an acknowledgment from somewhere else that indeed things were changing, things were growing, things would get better. 

“Well, I suppose I should get the good drinks for this.” For the first time, Sabé sounded relieved. She’d managed to help Padme’s grandson and that meant the world to her. 

“How about a beverage bottled the same year your grandmother and grandfather were married? I should have something. It was, after all, one of the loveliest years on Naboo.” Sabé smiled. 

“Do you feel any different?” Finn asked, leaning forward from his seat on a lounge. Ben had to think about that one. “No, no, I can’t say I feel any different. I suppose it all makes sense. I died once, Rey brought me back. If I died a second time, she’d just do it again.” Ben’s lips almost reached to smile. Judging by the look on many of the faces, few knew what Rey had done for him. 

“I suppose Rey never told you all what happened during the Battle of Exegol.” Ben smiled wide this time and spoke the story of the Jedi who rescued the prince. 

By early morning Ben and Rey snuck away from the villa, past the sleeping village of Twi’leks, across the lake on one of Sabé’s fishing vessels, a small ferry that Sabé told Ben he could keep as it once belonged to Padme, and at the porch of the hidden cottage they paused. Rey was slightly confused, but nonetheless when Ben promised the journey would be worth it she gladly agreed to go. Slowly Ben opened the double panel doors to reveal a home caught in darkness, but full of spirit. Ben smiled when Rey entered the cottage and peered around the soft home. Green from the inside out, the cottage had plenty of plants and flowers, the floor was like moonlight, the walls were sturdy and made of stone, the windows were many, the lake outside a constant source of melody, and for the life of Naboo the entire home smelled of fresh water. When Rey was finished wandering the home, she met Ben’s gaze. 

“What is this place?” A soft question that Rey didn’t believe she was asking. Ben shrugged, looked around the room, almost appraising it, but let it go to Rey. If she wanted to live here, then he’d live here too. 

“Home, if you want it to be.” Ben offered. 

At first Rey didn’t react, instead she reflected. She thought of the many nights spent alone in Jakku, the days of hunger, the unforgiving heat, she thought of her parents, and the pain. It was all in the past, and that past had brought her here. Embracing Ben, Rey held tight to the man, felt his heart beating in her ear, and as tears reached her eyes, she promised never to forget this moment as it might be the one to save her life one day. 

Their first day in the cottage brought with it more sleep than anything else, but as morning drifted to afternoon and midday changed to early evening, the pair slowly allowed themselves from rest’s hold. Ben cooked dinner, while Rey wandered the property, and only when the scent of thick soup reached her nose did she return with picked flowers from the lakeside. The two ate outside on the stone veranda where they could watch the water glisten under the sunset. It was only after dinner did someone from the villa attempt to contact them, Sabé. At the door the once handmaiden waited until Ben answered and by moonlight a swift exchange was made before the woman entered. Meeting inside, the three exchanged pleasantries before Sabé took a seat in the den. 

“If it suits you both, I could ask one of the droids to send over some more furnishings.” Sabé said, but Ben and Rey knew this was not the reason for her visit. 

“I do have a few things for you both. Both important and timely. I want you both to take comfort in knowing that Carise and the Boar were transported to a maximum-security prison. They await trial, but until then and after they will no longer be a threat to you or the Resistance.” Sabé smoothed her gown and placed on the small table before her a hologram of the planet Birren.

“Ben, Birren needs a leader and earlier today the court chose you as a potential replacement for Queen Carise. If the court were to elect you as a candidate it would go to a vote among the population and if selected, you’d be crowned king.” Ben allowed the news to permeate the room and sink into his mind. Leia spoke often of Alderaan and even more so about Ben’s responsibilities to its people, but Ben knew now that responsibility came in other forms. 

“It would be an honor, but,” Ben looked to Rey who left the option solely to him.

“I think it’s best if I remain here. That’s not to say if the people Birren are in need I won’t come, I will.”

“Right. I thought you might say that. I’ll pass the message on to Birren. That brings us to my second reason for visiting, and that is your trial. You saw that it was a fifteen to fourteen vote, meaning the court was closely divided. I wouldn’t feel completely threatened by this, but I think this is an indication that it might be best for you to lie low for a bit. Enjoy Naboo. Build a life.” 

“I plan to.” Ben answered, wanting to get to the next reason for Sabé’s visit.

“There is also the matter of the trials themselves. You salvaged the crown, The Hind, and the box from Chandrila. Since your reemergence you’ve also inherited a few other treasures.”

“I’ve left The Hind with the Resistance, the crown can go to Birren’s archive with the rest of Alderaan’s artifacts, and the box can go as well. As far as my inheritance it would be best if it were appropriately divided among the Resistance, Birren’s people, and Kashyyyk.” Ben answered. 

“I would have agreed with you up until one point.” Sabé reached into one of her gown’s pockets and pulled from it the box. Placing it on the table, she let it rest there as if part of the conversation. 

“I will do as you say, but I think you should keep the music box. I think it still has something you need.” Shortly after the woman smiled and left the pair. The holocron, the music box as others called it, rested on the table, not glowing or speaking, just waiting. 

“There is more.” Rey said, but the statement came with ease. Ben could open the holocron or not, it was up to him. Ben silenced his mind and waited for the holocron to open. Light like before, but somehow more brimming overtook the home and then dimmed to show Leia. She was older now, and just like Ben remembered her. Leia’s face etched in worry and strength, in fierce determination and utter sadness drew in a deep breath before speaking. Ben knew that look, because he had been the one to put it there. Leia smiled once, trying to put some energy she didn’t have into the message. 

“We’ve been looking for you for a very long time. It’s been a year and we can’t find you and I know that’s by your choice.” Leia began, and so did the tears on her face. 

“It only occurred to me the other day to use this music box as a way to find you, but please Ben, please understand we’ve tried so many routes. Your father is busy in the Outer Rim. He’s been there for months, convinced you’re there. Chewie is with him. Lando tried Coruscant, all of Coruscant, and he got a lead. Snoke. I had a feeling about him,” Leia stopped and bit back her tears. 

“Ben, we can’t find you and I know that’s because you don’t want to be found. I know you’re alive. I can feel it, but I also know the Force has another plan for you and right now that plan doesn’t include me finding you. I don’t care, I’m still going to try. Until the day we find you, I need you to understand that you can come home whenever you want. Any day is fine for you to return home. It doesn’t matter what you did. It doesn’t matter. What matters is you come home.” Leia looked away for a moment, covered her mouth to hide a sob, and then returned. 

“The Force has another plan for you.” Leia was still not able to believe whatever premonition was haunting her.

“When I sleep, I have the same dream, over and over again. I don’t think we’ll be seeing each other again as living beings. That’s not to say we’ll never see each other again. We will. I think our paths are separate for now, but maybe one day you’ll get this message. I hope you do. I hope you know how much your father and I love you. I hope you know you can come back and I know you will. I have something for you. I went searching for it while I was looking for you. It called to me and when I found it, I knew it was meant for you.” Leia’s tears were gone. Her smile widened in goodbye as she kissed her fingertips and outstretched them to Ben. Leia’s image dimmed and the holocron gently met the table as a secret compartment within the device opened. Rolling out came a sky blue colored kyber crystal. 

Slowly Ben picked it up and held it out for him and Rey to look at. 

“It feels like Leia.” Rey mentioned, and so the small crystal beat with life feeling so much like Ben’s mother. 

There were nights and days to pass as the galaxy moved beyond the knowledge that Kylo Ren was dead and Ben Solo had returned. All the while Rey and Ben kept their days filled with each other and nights spent close and warm. Few were the people who knew where Ben and Rey lived, but even then they still took in old friends. It was a fine day rolling with a cool Naboo breeze and the sounds of calling birds that drifted into a well-versed evening when Rey felt the culmination of an idea. For Ben this idea felt of age and even as it turned into a tapestry before his being he could not take his eyes away from how interact and ancient it was. Had this been fate? The Force? Destiny? No matter. On this evening Rey left the cottage, wandered to Varykino where she found a dress waiting for her, almost as if it had been there an entire lifetime waiting for this very moment. Ben arrived soon after, placing himself on a wide balcony overlooking the lake and the sunset. Quiet witnesses in the form of two generals, Finn and Poe arrived, along with Rose who held tight to Finn. Maz came later with Chewie in her wake, followed by Lando who sported a cape he kept for this moment specifically. The droids, BB-8, R2-D2, and C-3PO came as well, and ever so quietly the small group watched as Rey and Ben shared vows and kissed. Those who were there swore they felt at peace in that moment, as if a healing occurred that would mend an injury long in need of serenity. 

The End 


End file.
